Bushido no Jutsu
by A True Radical Dreamer
Summary: My first-ever Naruto fiction; thus, it is trash. However, it is nostalgic trash. Naruto gets an interesting new teacher. Coming at you like a raging demon fox, Bushido no Jutsu is in a genre until itself...Abandoned.
1. Polog: Nah, He's a Happy Drunk!

((So wow, here I am after a long break. Well, I've had this idea bouncing around in my head for awhile now, I guess it's time to put in into words. It's a alternate universe fiction and slightly OOC Naruto...well, you'll get the idea soon enough. What exactly would have happened if Naruto had a teacher during the early parts of his life? Well, in my fic he gets one, just not the kind you would expect...anyway, enjoy!))

Disclaimer no Jutsu: Naruto isn't mine and I don't own it.

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**Chapter 1: Of Dreamers and Rejection**

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It was raining...he always hated the rain. A young boy walking through the streets of Konoha muttering to himself, one question pulsing in his mind: Why? That was a question the five-year-old Naruto had been asking himself more and more these days. Why were people always so cold towards him? Why wouldn't his teachers help him? Why would he get chased out of the park by angry parents just because he had talked to another person? Why did they hate him so much...

_**Flash Back**_

_A young boy sitting on a park bench was watching several children play kickball. He would be here every day, watching other people his age run and play, their parents talking amongst themselves. They would look his way from time to time, shooting him glares and whispering. He didn't understand it, why would they always stare at him that way? Why would..."OUCH!"_

"_Owwww..." Naruto rubbed his head where a red ball had just careened into him. He picked it up and was about to toss it back to whatever adult had just hit him when a little blonde girl ran up to him panting. _

"_Oh gosh, I'm sorry! That lazy Shikamaru wasn't watching where he kicked. You alright?" She asked as she shot a glare back at a shrugging boy with a pigtail. Of all the things running through Naruto's mind, this was the least expected. It was the first time someone had actually apologized to him, the first time someone had talked to him while he was there. This girl didn't call him names or tell him to leave. He recovered and nodded to the now smiling girl. He held up the ball to her and rubbed the back of his neck as she smiled at him. _

"_Umm, I'm ok. Here's your ball." He said, shifting from one foot to the other nervously as she took the ball._

"_Thanks! Uh, well, see ya." She said as she quickly bowed to him and started to walk off. When she was several feet away she turned back to the boy as an idea hit her. "Hey, you wanna come play with us?" She said with a smile. _

_Before Naruto could exclaim a happy "yes!", one of the mothers ran over to where the two children were standing. She had a angry, yet frightened, look on her face as she stepped between the two blondes. _

"_Get away from her, you demon!" She exclaimed as the other parents started to walk over to the trio. Naruto cringed and started to back off. He was on the verge of tears and was about to shout back at the women when a rock hit him on the side of his head, sending him to the ground._

"_That that, demon! Get out of this park and don't corrupt our children!" Came the cry from somewhere in the group. The little blonde girl looked at the boy with a look of pain and confusion, if not a hint of worry. _

"_But mom...!" She was cut off as her mother pushed her further back. _

"_No, Ino! Don't ever talk to this...this...MONSTER...again!" She turned back to Naruto, "And you, get out of here now!" Naruto was already on his feet running, whipping the blood away from his head. He barely heard the cries from the other children as he ran and he certainly didn't see the several ANBU swooping down on the crowd. All he could do is run, run away from the hate of the crowd. _

**End Flashback**

The boy sighed as he walked down the main street of the Leaf Village. It had started raining soon after he left, the perfect end to a perfect day. _What did I do? I'm...not a monster...am I? _He wrenched his eyes shut as he tried to chase the painful thoughts away. He decided to head home, the only place where he could escape. He would almost be happy if he had someone to talk to. _The old man is nice to me_, he thought, _He gave me my own house, apartment, so the people at the orphanage didn't hit me..._

As he was thinking to himself, a door shot open out into the street where he was walking. He stopped and peeked inside before a old man crashed into him, sending both of them sprawling.

"You damned Samurai scum! Get out, we don't want you here!" Came a gruff voice from inside the bar. The old man muttered curses and grabbed his coat which was tossed out with him. He stood up on shaky legs as he used what looked like a walking stick to prop up on. Naruto also got up, rubbing his head. He looked at the old, and drunk, man that was stumbling off. The man took three or so steps before he fell over. Naruto was torn between running or helping when he remembered what was said to the man before he came crashing out into the street. _"Get out, we don't want you here!" _The words echoed through Naruto's head as he stood there watching the senior try to get up.

"He's...just like me..." The five year old quickly made up his mind. There was someone like him! Someone no one else liked. He quickly ran up to the man and slipped an arm around his waist, helping him stay upright. The old man looked down with dreary eyes at the young kid with wild hair.

"Uhhhhh...you ok, mister?" Hearing him mutter, Naruto took that as about as much of an answer the man could provide. He started leading him towards his apartment. "You're in bad shape, mister. I'll take you to my place so you can rest up, ok?" He looked up into the white haired man's eyes. Silently, the man nodded and walked along with the young man as the rain continued to pour. For the first time in the day, Naruto was smiling as they made their way towards the small apartment. One thing Naruto noticed, the people were glaring at him...but also at the old man walking beside him. This only made the blonde smile more. _Finally...someone like me..._


	2. Changing of the Guard? Not on My Watch!

Yes! I will write the first chapter tonight. Now, how could I leave you guys with just the prolog? I'm not that mean. Anyway, enjoy!

Disclaimer no Jutsu: Still don't own Naruto...

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**Chapter 2: Changing of the Guard? Not On My Watch!**

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Some kids bring lost puppies home, some kittens, normal kids that is. Uzumaki Naruto was anything but normal. Having just found an old man piss drunk in the street, he was helping him to his own apartment. Looking up at the man as the two hobbled along in the rain, the young Naruto did not find hate or malice in the man's eyes. Of course, that might be due to the fact he was drunk, of course, what five year old knows what being drunk is? _Wonder what's wrong with him...the people seem to stare at him just as much as me..._ Further along the two went, the old man still not saying a word. Several of the villagers would mutter a passing 'demon' or 'monster' but more often they would say 'damn samurai' or 'ronin scum'. _They really don't seem to like him that much...all the better for him to be my friend! _In spite of the glares he was receiving, Naruto kept smiling as he led the elderly man up the stairs of his apartment building. Leaning the man against the wall beside his door(can't expect him to stand on his own...), Naruto stood on the tips of his toes to unlock the door. The old man raised an eyebrow at this, but said nothing as he was lead inside by the young blonde.

"Finally, that rain was getting pretty bad, eh?" Naruto asked the man once he sat him down at his dinner table. The apartment, small as it was, had all the basics of living: kitchen, bathroom, bed, TV, cabinet full of instant ramen, Naruto couldn't be happier here, especially now that he had a companion. With a groan, the old man rubbed his head and looked through his fingers at the small boy sitting across from him, sipping on a can of orange soda. He then tilted his head down to look at the can set out for him. Groaning, he popped the cap and took a drink. _Damn, I hate soda..._

"So..." Naruto started, the senior looked up at him with a quirked eyebrow. Now out of the twilight, Naruto could make out what the man looked like. He was quite old, perhaps in his late 60's. His white hair was tied in a sloppy bun and a long, weathered beard fell down past his chest. He was wearing a tattered cloak, but underneath Naruto could see rusty armor. His walking stick, which Naruto had leaned up against the table, was thick and curved, it looked to be a wooden sword. What caught his attention the most, however, was the peculiar symbol on the armor covering his armor. He could make it out through one of the holes in the tattered cloak and was staring intently at it.

"What is it kid?" Naruto's attention snapped up to look at the man. He was still clutching his head, but seemed to be more attentive than he was on the way over.

"Uh, it's that symbol, it's not the one of the village..." Naruto heard the man chuckle.

"No kid, it's not. Anyway, thanks for the...soda...and the shelter." He moved to get up. _No...he's gonna leave. Just like the others, he doesn't want to be my friend..._ As the man moved past the boy, he heard a sniffle. Stopping, he groaned and looked down at the blonde.

"What is it kid?" He asked.

"W...why...do you wanna...leave..." Naruto got out through sniffs.

"Look kid, I really thank you for helping me out there, but I'm sure your parents won't like you picking up strangers off the street. I really think I should be out of here before they kick me out." He made to open the door. He stopped once again when he heard the kid croak out a reply.

"I...don't have any parents..." Naruto said.

"Oh come on kid, you have to have parents. Who lives here with you?"

"I...live here by myself..." That hit the old man. He scanned the room and saw only one bed. He fought down the feeling that if he asked more questions, he was going to regret it and sat back down.

"You live here by yourself? What are you, four?" He asked, taking another drink from his soda. _This stuff isn't half bad once you get used to it..._

"I'm five! I'll be six in a few days!" Naruto all but yelled at the man. He didn't mean to, it just slipped out. Instead of being angry, the old man just chuckled.

"Well, aren't you a spry thing. Still, don't you think you're a bit young to be living by yourself? Don't you have a guardian of some sort?" He asked.

"I live by myself because I have to..." Naruto's blue eyes seemed to dim as he continued. "When I lived at the orphanage, no one would take me home..." He started to sniff again, but held in his tears. The old man sized the boy up. _Well, well. Seems the boy has had a hard life, not like it's my problem...we all have our own personal demons..._

"Out of curiosity, why did you help me back there? I don't remember asking for any help." _Of course, I was piss drunk...I don't think I asked for help..._

"...you're like me..." This caught the mans' attention. He wasn't expecting that from the boy. Taking the silence as a show to continue, Naruto explained. "That man...in the bar. He said he didn't want you there...and the villagers...they looked at you like they look at me..." His voice trailed off. The man stared at him with vacant eyes, it made Naruto feel like a hole was being bored through his skull. Rubbing his head again, the old man cursed under his breath.

"Kid, what do you want from me? Look, the people in this country have a reason to hate me, I'm sure you're just exaggerating how they treat you..." He was cut off by an irate Naruto.

"No! They are all like that! They call me 'demon' and 'monster' and kick me out of the park! No one will even talk to me anymore, I...I don't have any friends or family..." He stopped and whipped his eyes. "I just want a friend..." He looked up at the old man with pleading eyes.

_Damn it...he looks just like..._ The old man shook his head. They were different people he told himself. He turned in his chair and looked out the window at the rain pouring down, hitting the glass.

"Look, I'm a ronin. I'm passing through here because I don't have a place to stay. I can't be your friend because I won't be around much longer. I was heading out of town tonight when I stopped by that bar for a drink." He could still hear the young blonde boy fighting back emotion, so he didn't turn to meet his gaze. _Do not get attached, do not get attached..._ He repeated this mantra through his mind as he adverted his gaze from the boy.

Thinking for several moments, the young Naruto remembered the villagers calling the man a 'ronin' before. Desperate to keep the man around for as long as possible, Naruto lead the conversation away from the man leaving.

"Hey mister, what's a ronin?" Naruto asked. The old man turned to look at him with confused eyes before he answered.

"Don't they teach you that in school? I know there aren't many of us this far north, but I would at least think they would mention us in history class." He noticed the blonde stiffen and frown.

"The teachers at school don't teach me anything...they are the same as the villagers." Naruto said as gritted his teeth in a mixture of anger and sadness. The old man blinked at him and his eye twitched. He ran his hand through his long beard. _What the hell does this kid have to put up with? No! Don't get attached, don't get attached!_

Desperate to bring the topic away from troubled childhoods, the old man answered the original question. "Well, a ronin is a samurai without a lord. Really though, he's just a mercenary." Noticing the confused look on the boys face, the old man sighed. "A samurai is a swordsman from the south. You guys up here are mostly taught Ninjitsu, while the south is Bushido; and before you ask, bushido is the code of the samurai. Basically, a samurai is a trained warrior specializing in swords that follows a code of conduct and serves a lord, a ronin is a samurai without a lord to serve. It's completely different from what you're used to and takes many years to master, trust me."

"So...you're kinda like a ninja without a village? You take jobs like us, only you don't report to anyone." Naruto stated with squinted eyes. He was in his classic 'Naruto thinking pose'.

_Smart kid..._ "Yeah, that's about as simple as I can put it." He groaned when he saw the boy start to put together a few thoughts.

"So...you take jobs from anyone?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah..." Answered the man, now thoroughly suspicious of the young boy.

Naruto broke out into a smile that threatened to take over his whole face making his eyes squinted in a way that one would wonder how he could see. "I wanna hire you for a job!" Silence passed over the apartment as neither person said anything. The old man leveled his gaze at the blonde.

"And what exactly would this job be and what would the pay be?" The senior samurai asked. _Guess I'll humor the kid._

"Ummmm..." Naruto seemed to be caught off guard now that the man actually asked him what he wanted. _I've got to keep him here! He'll be my friend if I do..._ "Uh...oh! Teach me to be a samurai! You can stay here until you're done! You said yourself that you don't have a place to live, as payment you can live here!" _Please...I don't want to be alone anymore..._

"Kid, you're in a ninja village. Why would you want to be a samurai? It's your history here, why would you want to toss that away?" _...why do I care? It's not like I'm considering this..._

"It's not like I can't learn both! I'm going to be the future Hokage! If this bukido or whatever will help me, I'll learn it!" He was trying to keep his mask of confidence up, but the old man could see though it. _Don't get attached, don't get attached...DAMN IT! He reminds me to much of Ellas..._

The old man once again buried his head in his hands. After a few nervous moments he looked at Naruto with a piercing gaze. "Are you sure about this kid? You've seen how much people dislike samurai here, are you sure you need more hate than you already say you have?"

Naruto thought for a moment. _Well, it's not like they can hate me anymore than they already do..._ Naruto, his mind made up, nodded furiously at the old man who promptly sighed.

"Damn kids...fine. You put a roof over my head and I'll teach you everything I know about Bushido. When do you start official ninjitsu training?" He asked.

"Ummm...well, right now we're learning the basics. After we turn six we get to go to classes that are just for ninja training. It's called the 'Ninja Academy' and I'll be learning form Iruka-sensei along with the other kids." He had met Iruka before. While he didn't speak much to him, Naruto noticed he wasn't as mean as the other teachers. He was actually looking forward to the coming classes.

"Ok then, I'll teach you the basics of the Kenjutsu and have you memorize the codes of Bushido before you start your ninja training. Now, since you want to combine the two so much, you'll have to be the one to do it, I know nothing about ninjitsu, so don't ask me. We agreed?" The old man asked, holding out his hand over the table. _I can't believe I'm agreeing to do this..._

Naruto blinked for a moment before smiling and shaking the mans' hand, threatening to tear it off. "Yeah, old man! I'll learn this samurai thing easy!" The old man pried his young charge's grip off his hand and sighed.

"First, this is not going to be summer camp, understand? It's going to take years to learn and decades to master..." He was cut off by the young blonde.

"NANI!" His mouth threatened to hit the table. The old man slapped his hand to his head.

"What do you think Bushido is, kid? It's just as complex as your ninjitsu!" He yelled back.

"Stop calling me kid you old geezer! It may take years for regular people, but I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I'll have the entire Bushido thing down in a year!" He boasted as he scratched his nose. His companion across the table had his eyes closed muttering curses under his breath. Taking a few moments to calm himself, the senior smirked and cracked his knuckles.

"We'll see how long you can keep that attitude up kid, training starts tomorrow morning at 5:00am." He got up and walked over to the boy. Reaching inside of his cloak, he pulled out a thick scroll and set it out in front of Naruto. "There, learn this before tomorrow. It's about the basic philosophy of Bushido, commit it to memory." He left a grumbling Naruto in the kitchen and walked over to the small couch. Propping his 'walking stick' up beside him, he collapses on the soft cushions.

"Hey, old geezer." Naruto called out over his shoulder. The old man cursed and sat up.

"What kid?" He asked, keeping certain explicative out of his reply. _I. Want. Sleep!_

"What should I call you?"

"...well, my name is Shouyou Sugi. Call me what you want." Sugi said as he turned back over.

"Sure...Gramps." Naruto chuckled as he heard muffled curses coming from his couch. He looked over the old man and smiled before going back to studying the Bushido scroll.


	3. Onward to the Ninja Academy!

Wow, I'm updating this one fast. I really have so many ideas for this story, that's why it's coming along so nicely. Please read and review so I know how I'm doing! Now, on with the chapter!

**Disclaimer no Jutsu: Don't own Naruto or any of the characters, Shouyou Sugi is mine though, so don't touch!**

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Chapter 3: Onward to the Ninja Academy!**

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The forest: The most peaceful place in Konoha. The animals and trees are all perfectly tuned into the rhythm of nature. Early morning is best, of course, the birds are just waking up, the dew on the trees make them shimmer under the rising sun, orange-clad ninja brats are yelling at their elderly mentors...yes, all was right with the world.

"Come on Gramps, teach me something!" A ill tempered Naruto stood in a clearing on the outskirts of town. His teacher, one Shouyou Sugi, was trying his best not to snap the boy's neck in frustration.

"Look kid, you don't even know how to handle a sword and you want me to teach you some fancy move! First you've got to get comfortable with your weapon, it's your life remember?" Sugi said. Naruto remembered, he had spent all night and the better part of the morning reading about samurai history.

"Now, take this..." The old man tossed a wooden sword to the frustrated blonde, "And I'll teach you some basic Kenjutsu moves." Naruto couldn't help but smile. Catching the sword, he found it to be much heavier than he expected and had to use both hands to hold it.

"Uggg...Hey Gramps, this thing weighs to much!" The five year old struggled to keep the sword upright. It was wood, but the end of the hilt had a plug in it. Before he could examine it more closely, he heard chuckling coming from his 'sensei'.

"Of course it does, it's a training bokuden I made myself. The end has a hole where you can fill it with sand, which it is now. It's the best way to gain muscle strength in your arms! Once I feel you have a good grasp on the art, I'll give you a real bokuden and the actual training can begin." He walked over to the boy and corrected the way he was holding the wooden sword. Once corrected, he stepped back and took up an identical stance with his weapon. "Ok, kid, come at me."

"Heh, sure thing, Gramps!" Naruto charged like a bull at the elderly man. Flailing about like he was swinging a piñata, the young blonde didn't notice the subtle movements the senior samurai was making in response to his assault. Barley moving, the old man misdirects each thrust and swing, never actually having to stop Naruto's blade. Getting frustrated, Naruto tries a overhead chop. Sugi sighs and drives the hilt of his bokuden into his students exposed stomach, driving the air from his lungs. Doubling over, Naruto coughs and sputters.

"Don't get so mad, kid. You've got to be calm and collected during battle if you ever want to be a samurai. You can get mad and frustrated once the fight's over. It's the way of the samurai, you have to separate the two attitudes." He helps the winded boy back up to his feet before taking up the stance once again. "Now, calm down and try to hit me." This time, Naruto breathes deeply before taking up the same stance, this time without guidance. He and his elderly teacher stare at each other for a few moments before the small blonde yells and thrusts at his sensei. The old man smiles and knocks the blade away once again, but Naruto whips the sword back around and makes the older man actually stop the blow. He smiles at his young charge before sliding his blade down and hitting the boys hand to make him drop his bokuden.

"Oww! That's cheating, old man!" Naruto whines as he shakes his sore hand in the air. He narrows his eyes at the grinning senior.

"Not in the least. You have to watch for things like that to make sure a less than honorable opponent doesn't do the same. Understand, hardly anyone you're going to fight in your life will play by the rules of combat, you have to learn to deal with people like that so you don't end up dead." He stops for a moment and pats the boy on his head. "You did better that time though, I actually had to block your attack." The young boy smiled before puffing out his chest.

"Of course you did! I'm the great Naruto Umaza...OWW!" The boy stopped mid-boast due to the blunt end of a bokuden impacting on his head.

"Don't get cocky, kid. You've got a loooooong way to go before you're anything other than a kid with a stick." The old man chided. "Now, that I know what you can do, lets run though your first basic kata." The two warriors squared off as the old man barked out orders to his young charge. Unknown to either of them, a pair of eyes was watching the entire procession from behind a white mask...

_**Later, at the Hokage Tower**_

Walking quietly, yet briskly, towards the Hokage's office, a masked ANBU member nodded to a secretary. He didn't have to be searched or checked simply because he was ANBU. Knocking on the door, he waited for an answer.

"Who is it? Come in." Came the reply. Heading in, the masked ninja stepped towards the large wooden desk of the Sandaime Hokage. The old man in question was puffing on his pipe as he signed various documents.

"Hokage, I'm here to make my weekly report." Said the ANBU member.

"Ah, of course. Good to see you again, Inoshi. How's your wife and daughter?" Sandaime asked the ANBU named Inoshi.

"Oh, their both well, Hokage-sama. It's Ino's birthday this week, she'd turning six." Inoshi replied.

"Ah, the newest group of ninja's are going up so fast. Now, how is Naruto doing?" Inoshi winced at the name of the boy. It had been the Third's idea to set a ANBU member to write up a report on the demon child once a week. Inoshi had been unlucky, his turn came up the same week his daughter had her birthday. He wasn't getting to spend that much time with his family, and he'd get to spend even less time once his daughter started konoichi training. Even less appealing was the fact that she'd be in the same class as the Uzumaki kid once they all started at the Academy in a few weeks.

"Well, there was an incident the other day." He watched as the Third's eyebrows furrowed. He couldn't figure out for the life of him why he was so interested in the Uzumaki brat, but he was only a lowly ANBU member, nothing he could do other than do his job. He could, however, skirt the issue and keep his wife and daughter out of trouble. "He caused a scene at the park and was chased out by some of the villagers. ANBU broke up the crowd and I followed the boy." Of course the Third knew this was a lie. He knew that Naruto had done nothing wrong and that Inoshi was protecting his wife. Sarutobi had watched the entire event on his jutsu-warded crystal ball. He was actually happy that the young Ino had been so kind to Naruto. It wasn't until Yuriko, Ino's mother, had intervened did things get bad for Naruto. After Naruto ran out of the park, Sarutobi stopped watching and headed out to talk to the ANBU on guard, he would at least make sure the nothing like this would happen again. He was about to let Inoshi leave when the ANBU continued with his report to the surprise of the Third, he didn't know anything else interesting had happened to the boy.

"After the boy left, he ran into a drunkard that was chased out of a bar. He took the man to his apartment and there he stayed the night. He was quite old and I believe he was a samurai." This caught the Third's attention. It was big news when a samurai came to Fire Country. "They left early this morning and headed out of town to the forest. It appears the boy is getting lessons from the man in return for room and board. From what I have already gathered, the man's name is Shouyou Sugi, a ronin from the south. From what I have seen, his skills are Chuunin-level at best."

"I see..." Sarutobi was pleased with this development but yet, apprehensive. Hadn't Naruto had his heart set on being a ninja? _I doubt that boy has given up...it's good he has a teacher though, I was worried his skills wouldn't be up to grade the way he was being treated at school. Now, it should be interesting to see how his being trained by a samurai will effect his ninja training..._"Keep me informed of this situation, understood? Good work, Inoshi, you're dismissed. Give my regards to Yuriko and Ino." The Sandaime Hokage went back to his paperwork as Inoshi bowed and headed out of the Hokage's office. _Damn demon brat, now I have even more work thanks to him and that ronin. _Cursing under his breath, Inoshi headed home for the night and away from a anxious Sandaime...

_**Several Weeks Later...**_

And so the days passed for the village of Konoha. The young Naruto advanced in his training up to the point where he would enroll in the Ninja Academy. It was on the eve of his sixth birthday that was the day before he starts, that is where we find him and the old ronin...

"Yeah! Tomorrow I start being a ninja!" Yelled a hyper Naruto. It had been six weeks since his new roommate/unofficial guardian, Shouyou Sugi, had joined him. Now the old man was more of a Grandfather than employee to the young blonde. His sword skills had come along better than either of them had predicted, in a few more weeks, Sugi would move him into chakra control. That would put him several months ahead of his classmates. All of that was forgotten today though, for this was the day Naruto turns six and one day before he heads off for full-time ninja training.

"A ninja, eh? Already tired of trying to become a samurai, are we?" Said the old man between gulps of root beer. _Such a poor substitute for the real thing, oh the things I do for this kid..._

"No, I like the whole samurai idea, it's a really good way to go and I intend to use it first and foremost." Naruto said as he took a bite of cake. The training had been rough for the young demon vessel. He still had his weighted bokuden but he did know several kata's by heart. What would one expect from someone who spent almost every waking moment practicing. Even the old man was having trouble keeping up. Sugi enjoyed the time the kid spent at school each day, it was the only time he had to drink/rest. Every other moment was taken up with training. Now that his charge was taking off to the ninja academy, he was sure it would take-up a large portion of the blonde's energy, giving Sugi more time to rest. If things kept going the way they were, he'd be dead from exhaustion by the end of the year!

"That's good to hear. Now, how do you plan to mix the two styles?" He was referring to Naruto's goal of using both samurai and ninja training. Although he never tried it, others had...and failed miserably.

"Well, I would think Kenjutsu would classify as a kinda Taijutsu. I'd use it as main means of attack and use ninjitsu for long range stuff and other skills." Naruto replied as he cut another piece of cake. Sugi nodded, impressed with the idea.

"That might work kid. It's not like the type of Kenjutsu I'll teach you doesn't have long range attacks though. Ninjitsu would definitely help with sneaking around or getting out of tight spots. It also will give you a wider variety of attacks to use. Some of those jutsu tricks are pretty nice." Another cup of root beer fell victim to the samurai's ravenous thirst. "Ah, now it's time to open presents, kid." Sugi said as he pulled out a long box from it's hiding place under the couch. Smiling, the old man sets the heavy box down on the table he and his charge are sitting at.

"All right! Thanks Gramps!" Naruto yells before ripping into the wrapping paper. Wrapped up is a shiny box of dark wood. It's curved and polished. There is a gold dragon carved into the wood with the symbols for "Flow" and "Power" also carved on the surface. Blinking, Naruto opens the top of the box and nearly falls over. Inside is a polished wood bokuden. About four feet in length, it has a pearl-white handle with the same dragon design carved into it. On the bottom of the hilt is the symbol for "Loyalty" carved into it. Naruto took it out of it's velvet box and drew into a combat stance once he got up from the table. It weighed much less than his practice bokuden. Without a doubt, it was the nicest thing he owned.

"Hope you like that, kid. It was my first actual sword. You'll get a real one I 'graduate' you and deem you a proper samurai, until then, this is your weapon. It's lasted me for over fifty years and hasn't chipped once, so I don't think you can hurt it. It's called 'Yori', means 'dependence.' You'll be depending on this sword until you earn your first real sword, so take care of it." Sugi could see that the kid liked it. He was still staring at the hilt of the sword when a knock on the door startled them both.

"What the heck? I never have visitors." Naruto was a bit mithed at having his birthday interrupted. He put Yori back in its case and headed over to the door as Sugi stole a bit of cake. "Yeah, what do you...want?" Standing on the other side of the door was none other than the Sandaime Hokage.

"Hello Naruto, having a good birthday?" Said a smiling Sarutobi.

"Old man! You remembered? I thought for sure you'd be at the Kyuubi festival." Naruto said, startled. The six year old happily motioned for the elderly Hokage to come in.

"I can't stay I'm afraid. As you say, the festival is going on and I have to make an appearance. I mearly came by to see how you are doing and to give you a gift." Naruto lit up at the mention of another gift.

"Ah, it's ok. You're a busy guy so it must be a bother to even get enough free time to see me like it is." The third blinked. _Since when did Naruto start to think things through? _

"Ah, yes, it's as you say. I hear you have a houseguest, how is he doing?" The Third asked.

"Oh, you mean Sugi? He's probably stuffing his face with MY CAKE AS WE SPEAK." At the accusation, they both heard muffled gagging and a fork drop to the floor along with a strained response of 'am not' coming from a choking Sugi.

"Ah, that's good. You start at the Academy tomorrow, correct? I think you'll like your teacher. Iruka is always a favorite of the students." Hearing fireworks in the distance, the Third sighs and smiles at Naruto before handing him a gift bag. "Unfortunately, I have to be going. I hope these things are to your taste. Have a happy birthday Naruto and have a good first day at the Academy." With a puff of smoke, the Sandaime Hokage gone. _Dang, I really wish I knew how he did that..._ Naruto closed the door and headed back over to dinner table where he set his gift bag.

"So, that was the Sandaime Hokage? He's as old as I am, you really need some younger friends." Sugi said as he chugged yet another root beer. "So, what did you get?"

Naruto shrugged and opened the bag. He pulled out a headband, a set of weighted bracers, blue shorts that would come down past the knees, and a blue vest with fishnet sleeves. The white headband had one red character for "River" offset in the middle. Sugi looked it all over and whistled.

"That old guy has some taste. The bracers are especially nice, they'll help with your training." He said as he looked them over.

"Yeah, but how did he know? I haven't seen him in weeks..." That the Third knew about his samurai training was unsettling to say the least.

"Eh, don't worry about it. He's the Hokage right? It's his job to know these things. More importantly, you need to go to sleep early tonight, right? Big day tomorrow." He knew he was being watched by several high-level ninja every time they trained, he would have to find some way to remedy that once he started teaching his young ward the more advanced samurai techniques. _Maybe that Hokage could help with that?_

"Yeah, I guess. I don't wanna fall asleep in class the first day." Naruto replied with a foxy grin. After a celebratory last cup of birthday ramin before turning with one blonde samurai-in-training dreaming of becoming Hokage...

_**The Next Morning...**_

"Got your kunai knives? Spare Shrunken? Bokuden?" Asked a still half-asleep Sugi.

"Yes, yes, and yes. Geez, don't worry so much. No way I'm going to let this day get messed up for me because I forgot something!" Naruto said proudly. The six year old was finally going to start off to the Academy today. Having been up half the night from sheer excitement, Naruto had laid out all his ninja equipment and gave it all a thorough cleaning then started on his new bokuden until he woke up Sugi who promptly took over the preparation.

"Oh really? You've got everything under control, huh?" Seeing Naruto nod, the man snickered. "So, you're going to head off to your first day in your boxers?" Naruto looked down at himself, in his hurry he had indeed forgotten the shorts the Hokage had given him. One quick curse/pair of shorts later, Naruto once again stood ready by the front door. He had on his 10lb bracers the Hokage had given him along with his blue vest and shorts. His kunai pouch strapped around his waist while his Shrunken were on their belt strapped around his left arm. His white-handled bokuden, Yori, was tied to his back since he was too short to wear it at his side. The old man sat up from his 'bed' and looked the boy over.

"Well, if no one knew better, they might actually think you were an actual ninja and not some green kid." A string of bit-off curses and loud laughter filled the apartment. "In all seriousness kid, I want to talk to you about something." Sugi's tone dropped into a serious one that told Naruto to listen up. "Ok, I'm going to be honest with you here. At your level of Kenjutsu training, you can probably hold your own with any of the other trainee's out there. The first day is probably what your teacher is going to use to gage your talent, be sure to try your best. A definite pecking order will start to form and trust me, you'll want to be on the top. Of course, that would draw a bit of attention to you, so you might want to keep a low profile. Don't hold anything back fighting though, use everything I've taught you and don't be ashamed of your samurai training, ok?"

"Yeah, sure thing Gramps. No way will I let anyone say anything bad about Bushido!" Naruto flashed another fox-like grin before he headed out the door. Sugi could see him run down the stairs that lead to the street and ultimately to the Ninja Academy. _Ha, that kid is going to split that place wide-open today. _Sugi felt a bit sorry for the hell his ward would cause, but shrugged it off as divine karma for the way the kid had been treated throughout the years. _Guess I should go see that Hokage guy about getting those ANBU off our back..._ The old man sighed before dressing and heading off himself, only his destination was the highest seat of office in the land...

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Next time on Bushido no Jutsu: Naruto meets up with some familiar faces as two old men talk about a certain blonde demon vessal. And hey, is that the girl who lost the red ball all those chapters ago! All this and a Sasuke/Naruto fight during the next chapter, "Rivals and Ridicule", see ya there! 


	4. Red Hot Rivalries

So many reviews! Thanks for all the pointers on how to make this thing better. Now, to reward my faithful reviewers, it's time for the fourth chapter! Sasuke, Ino, Sakura, and the rest of the rookie nine join the story as Naruto heads off to the Academy! Since so many new characters are being added, please, please, please, allow me more time to update. It may start taking me a few days per update since I have other work to do(read-stupid college research papers)). Also, since I have to write a early Mizuki, I'm going to take some liberties with his character. It's not like he was power crazy his whole life and this is 4 years before he tricks Naruto. Oh, and this is not a crossover fiction. **Another thing, this is before Itachi goes crazy and kills all of Sasuke's clan, so he's not an ass yet so don't yell at me about Sasuke being out of character, he'll get to the angst-y, emo, Sasuke soon enough**. Anyway, enjoy this fine chapter and ,as always, read and review!

**Disclaimer no Jutsu: No, I do not own Naruto or any of the other characters, I do own Sugi, however!**

Now, to give some credit were credit is due: BIG thanks go out to **Underdark Ranger **for correcting me on Kendo/Kenjutsu. I've corrected that huge mistake in all of the previous chapters and will use Kenjutsu from now on. Again, you really helped man, thanks a lot.

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**Chapter 4: Red Hot Rivalries**

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Umino Iruka: beloved teacher, chonin-class ninja, Kyuubi survivor and orphan. Ashiya Mizuki: co-teacher and chonin-class ninja. Both men were now shifting through the pile of paperwork on the new students that would be joining their classes today.

"Ugh, these ANBU reports are too drawn-out. Why the heck didn't they get these too us sooner!" Mizuki said as he rubbed his blood-shot eyes. The two had been up all night looking through the files of their newest charges.

"It could be worse, Mizuki. We could have had to gather all this info first-hand ourselves. The ANBU were good enough to write summaries for the larger one's so at least we don't have to read through these last few files completely." Said an equally-tired Iruka. "Now, who's next?"

"Yeah, yeah. Hmm...that Uchiha kid." Mizuki said as he pulled out a inch-thick file. "Ok, lemme read this..."

_Sasuke Uchiha, 6_

_Clan Specialty: Fire Jutsu and Taijutsu _

_Bloodline: Sharingan(dormant)_

_Weapon Preference: Kunai and Shuriken _

_The newest Uchiha to enter the Academy. Brother of Itachi Uchiha and son of Mishiranu Uchiha. Good chakra control for his age, the newest Uchiha shows particular talent for Ninjutsu. Already knows several low-level jutsu's and is working on the higher level ones in his spare time._

Finishing up with the summary, Mizuki hands it over to Iruka who in turn studies it. "Pretty good. He's gonna be a hit with the other kids, it's always good to have a role-model to look up to. I do get the feeling we're going to have a problem with him and the girls, it's going to be like the old Itachi fan club." Iruka said as he rubs his temple. How could he forget the Uchiha fan clubs? Such was the Uchiha legend! _Somehow I think this is going to be a very...unique class..._

"Yeah, nothing worse than dealing with a bunch of hormone-driven konoichi." Mizuki laughed as he pulled out the last file. "Woohoo! We're almost...done..." He trailed off as he read the last files' summary. He glanced over at Iruka who grabbed it for himself.

"You knew he was coming, it's our job to teach him. It's the Hokage's orders and he ordered me directly." Iruka said as he read the name on the profile.

"I know, I was just hoping it was some sort of bad dream though." Mizuki said as he took a long drink from his coffee mug. "But, why is that kid's file so big? I know about..._that_...but there seems to be a lot of new stuff, especially during the last month or so."

"Yeah, some of this stuff is pretty out there, but I guess he's ok. He does have good taste in food." Iruka looked over the file as he finished reading, laughing at the last part. "Anyway, lets get on to class, the kids should be here soon." Iruka picked up the stack of papers and handed the summaries to Mizuki. On their way to the classroom, Mizuki glanced over the summary for Naruto Uzumaki.

_Naruto Uzumaki, 6_

_Clan Specialty: None_

_Bloodline: None_

_Weapon Preference: Katana/Bokuden _

_The only member of the Uzumaki clan, he is the vassal for --censored-- and was an orphan after the Fourth --censored-- Has recently taken up Bushido/Kenjutsu training under a ronin teacher. Skill level of both student and teacher are unknown, but the man is Chonin-level at best. Naruto has a loud personality, is a known prankster, and loves ramen. 'Censored by the office of the Hokage'_

Mizuki slapped his head. Ramen...of all the things the kid liked. After teaching with Iruka for several years, the man had gotten quite tired of the stuff. _And what the heck is with this kid? Learning Bushido in a ninja village? He's going to be a joke with skills like that. _Mizuki shook all this away, however, as he followed Iruka through the door of the classroom. Both teachers blinked at the sight that awaited them in their classroom. There was Konohas' blonde menace was grinning at a very surprised/amused Uchiha prodigy while two small girls glared at the blonde boy. The two teachers looked at each other and sighed. Iruka was right, it was going to be one interesting class...

_**Earlier in the Day...**_

"YEAH!" A blonde blur raced through the streets of Konoha, the sneers and glares he was receiving not having one effect on him. He could see it, the Ninja Academy, off in the distance. Just below the Hokage monument, it was build there specifically so that the past Hokage's could watch over the new recruits of the village. It's a huge, multi-story complex with many different teachers and classrooms. Over two hundred children study here, from age six to ten. Once they hit ten, they take a final exam and, if they pass, get promoted to Genin. Right now, Naruto was at the bottom of ninja society, a first year student with no experience under his belt. _Heh, that's what they think, I've got a month's worth of Kenjutsu training from Gramps! _Naruto adopted his confident fox-grin as he strolled through the Academy gates.

"Wow..." He looked around the courtyard. Several older students were practicing Taijutsu while others were listening to lectures. He watched the complex moves as a older boy with shaggy hair spared with a tall man with weird eyebrows. He was so focused on them, that he ran into someone and fell over.

"Hey! Watch were you're going!" Naruto propped himself up on his elbows too look at the roadblock. There in an equally fallen state, was a blonde girl about his age, her hair done up in a ponytail. _There's something about her...have I seen her before? _While in his famous 'Foxy Thinking Pose' he didn't notice the angry blonde glaring at him...well, until her fist connected with his head.

"Baka! What do you mean 'watch where you're going'! You're the one who ran into me!" She yelled. Naruto rubbed his head, all thoughts about remembering where he knew her from forgotten.

"I did not! You were just standing there, you should have been paying more attention!" The argument went back and forth, neither actually aiming to hurt the other's feelings. After a few more insults were thrown, they both started to loose interest and a silence set in, the blonde girl broke the calmness.

"You're...that boy from the park, right? The one Shikamaru hit with the ball?" She said quietly.

"Oh...now I remember..." He wondered how he could have forgotten. It was the best and worst day of his life. He had been run out of the park by all the adults, but had also met his only friend. It was with a bitter/sweet tone that he continued. "Yeah, I'm him. Uh, thanks for being so nice to me then." He bowed quickly. He had wanted to thank her for weeks, but had never found the time between training sessions to look for her. At least, that's what he told himself, in reality he wanted to avoid that scary woman who had yelled at him so much.

"Yeah, well, it was nothing. Shikamaru did hit you with that ball and all. So, you're here to start your ninja training too?" She said in a pleasant tone.

"Yeah! You're going to be a ninja too?" Naruto replied with a grin which the other blonde returned.

"Well, neither of us will be ninjas if we don't get to class. Since you were kinda late, you missed the official ceremony. I'm gonna go on ahead, see you there!" She said as she started to walk off. Naruto bit his lip nervously before calling out to her and waved.

"Uh, I'm Naruto Uzumaki by the way. I hope we're in the same class!" She turned to look at him before nodding back.

"I'm Ino Yamanaka, and yeah, it would be nice to be in the same class, you seem like a lot of fun." Naruto watched as she disappeared inside the tall building in front of him. He didn't know why, but suddenly he felt even better about the day. A real, honest, smile graced his face as the blue-clad blonde headed off into the building himself, looking for his classroom.

_**Several minutes and one helpful set of directions later...**_

"Man, this place was hard to find." Naruto grumbled as he walked into the correct classroom. He had gotten lost several times before a scary lady with purple hair had pointed out the room to him. He looked around the room at the thirty or so children. One might confuse this classroom with a regular school if all the kids weren't armed to the teeth. As it stood, Naruto seemed to be the least-armed of the group. _Heh, all I need is my bokuden. _Near the middle of the room, he spotted Ino and a pink-haired girl staring at a black-haired boy dressed in a shirt that was waaaay to big for him sitting a few rows further down the line. He walked down the steps and called out to his classmate.

"Hey, Ino!" Naruto greeted the girl as he stood by the row of desks she was at. Turing away from the pink-haired girl she smiled and motioned for him to sit.

"Hello Naruto. I was wondering where you were, didja get lost?" He started to sweat. _Bingo..._ She giggled and pointed to the girl she had been talking too. "This is my best friend, Sakura Haruno." Sakura gave a polite wave before turning back to stare at the boy a few rows down. Ino glared at Sakura before she too started staring at the boy. _What the heck is wrong with them? It's just some kid._

"Who is that guy and why is everyone staring at him?" Naruto asked. It was annoying that one kid should get so much attention when they are all more-or-less equal in skills. Both girls were shaken out of their daydreams with twin blushes.

"He's Sasuke-kun!" Cooed Sakura. "He's the newest Uchiha to enter the Academy. They say he already know a few jutsu's! Can you believe that? He's probably the most powerful student here!" Naruto face-faulted then looked over at Ino who had the same look of admiration plastered on her face. _Aw crap, not Ino too!_ That was it, he had had enough. Before either of the girls could say anything more, Naruto took off towards the Uchiha. With a surprised look, Sasuke looked over at the blue-clad boy who was now sizing him up from the aisle.

"Uh, hi?" Sasuke said timidly. _Brother told me that the other kids would be after me because I'm an Uchiha, he doesn't look that tough though. _Sasuke did notice the long, wrapped, object strapped to the blonde boys back, though. Before he could ask about it the boy snorted and squinted his eyes.

"He doesn't look so tough! I don't see what you girls think is so great about him." Sasuke smiled weakly. _He doesn't even know what I can do and he's already making assumptions? _Before either boy could say more, the definite foreboding of killing intent swept over them both. The blonde boy was soon overshadowed by two irate, demon-like, girls. One with light blonde, almost white, hair and the other with pink hair.

"DON'T SAY THAT ABOUT SASUKE-KUN!" Both called out in unison. This made both boys take a step back. _Whoa, scary...and why did they call me 'kun'? I haven't even met them yet!_

"Uh...well, you two were going on about him so much, I thought I'd see if he'd like to spar some! Yeah, that's it, spar!" Naruto said after gaining some courage to talk back to the two girls-turned-demons. _I'm not jealous!_ This answer seemed to be enough for them to return to normal. Sakura scoffed and nudged Ino.

"Like you would stand a chance against Sasuke-kun. Right, Ino?" Ino had a similar expression but it had hints of worry laced in her voice.

"Yeah, you would get hurt Naruto, he's on another level completely." This, however, served to flame the fires of Naruto's determination. He turned his back, slowly, on the two konoichi-in-training and grinned at Sasuke who was now felling left out of the conversation. _What the heck? Stop talking like I'm not here!_

"Alright! I'll beat you to prove I'm the best there is! Come one Sasuke, lets have a match!" Naruto winked and help up a 'v' for victory.

"Uh, if you really want to." Sasuke answered. He could use a target to practice the new kunai moves his brother had shown him. Ino and Sakura stared blankly at him. Before either of them could say anything, Naruto had placed his hands on the wrapped object tied to his back. Before either of the girl or Sasuke could ask what he was doing, they were cut short by two tall men calling to them.

"None of that!" Said the one with a scar that ran over the bridge of his nose. "This is a classroom, not a practice area." From his side, the other man stifled a laugh.

"Iruka, kids will be kids. We were the same way our fist day of the Academy, remember?" The silver-haired man chided. Iruka sighed and turned back to the class.

"Fine, but lets wait until we actually can get them outside where the classroom won't get wrecked." After a whoop of joy from Naruto, Iruka continued. "Now, we'll let you have your match ONLY when we get to taijutsu training today." Iruka smiled, sometimes it was nice to play the 'mean' teacher. After a collective moan from the class, most of the other students had wanted to see the Uchiha fight, Iruka began with introductions.

"I am Iruka-sensei." The class nodded. By now, they had all found a seat. It was of little surprise that the two girls he had seen earlier had settled on the chairs on either side of the Uchiha. What was surprising is that Naruto had picked the seat beside the Yamanaka girl. He had figured Naruto would go sit beside the other boys in his class. _And so it starts..._

"And I'm Mizuki-sensei, we'll both be teaching you guys, so don't slack off!" Mizuki continued. Iruka took the time to look over his class. The kids from the usual clans where here: Inuzuka, Aburame, Yamanaka, Haruno, Nara, Akimichi, Uchiha...but, unlike past classes there were a few unique clans that he hadn't seen much of. It wasn't often that a Hyuuga was seen in the Academy, especially one from the main family. _Her cousin is in my second-year class...wonder if she's as good as him? _Looking over his students again, he also noticed the wrapped object on Naruto's back, but unlike his students, he knew what it was. _So...he's going to use his Kenjutsu training here, eh? I have to give it to the kid, he's serious about this...should be a good match. It's been years since I've seen a samurai/ninja match._ Sighing, he noted how the blue-clad blonde keep shooting glares at the Uchiha kid. A rivalry was forming, even if the two didn't know yet, and no work was going to get done until they had it out. Even the other students were anxious to see the great Uchiha clan in action. A small smile popped up on his face as he waved off Mizuki's opening statements.

"Mizuki, let's change the lesson plan for today. I think we can cut directly to Taijutsu and then circle back to Ninjutsu for today only." Mizuki smiled and sighed, he had been thinking of suggesting the same thing. Of course, the class erupted in whispers and cheers. Naruto was grinning ear-to-ear and was looking too much like the Kyuubi for Iruka's taste, but he didn't mention it. The Uchiha boy was also smiling, although not as brightly as Naruto. The little pink-haired Haruno girl was smiling at Sasuke, obviously confident of his abilities. The Yamanaka was more-the-less like the Haruno girl, only her attention was split between the other blonde and the Uchiha.

The class made it's way out into the courtyard where Naruto had seen the older kids practicing earlier. The weird eyebrow man and the little boy were still there, only they were talking to Iruka. He flinched when he saw the spandex-wearing one flash a grin that would blind the sun itself. Once they had cleared the area, they had walked over to the side to watch, Iruka came back over to his class.

"All right, this is a basic Taijutsu test. We'll set you all up with a partner while Mizuki and I watch your progress and see what level of skill you're at. It's important that you all fight your best, because we'll be helping you throughout your life at the Academy improving the weaknesses you show today. "Alright, we'll take these matches one at a time so you can all watch to see how your classmates fight. Some of you, in four years, will be put on teams together, so it's best if you learn how each other work now." Turning towards an anxious Naruto and Sasuke, Iruka smiled. _Finally, Sasuke will go all out, looks like my delaying tactics worked. Now, lets see what he can really do._ "Ok you two, when I say the match is over, you both stop. Other than that, go all out. I'll leave weapon choices up to you both. Begin when ready." With that, Iruka took out a notepad to record noted, Mizuki did the same.

"Heh, any weapons, huh?" Sasuke said, taking out a kunai knife from his pouch. Both teachers noticed his stance and noted accordingly. _My brother finally taught me some things, I can't wait to try it out._ That's when he noticed his opponent. "Uh, Naruto, what are you doing?" The crowds attention was then drawn to the little blue-clad boy. He had taken off the thing from his back and was in the middle of unwrapping it, even the spandex man was looking on with curiosity.

"Heh, you didn't think I was a normal kid, right Sasuke? I've been in training for the last month with Gramps!" Naruto declared as he lifted a wooden sword into a combat stance. After a collective blink, most of the students burst out laughing, even Sasuke couldn't help but smile. The sword was almost as long as Naruto was tall, it was quite a sight.

"Don't you think you should use a kunai? We aren't samurai's you know and this isn't a game." Sasuke said over the giggles. He didn't notice the shocked gaze from the green-clad man that was watching the fight nor the appraising looks from the two teachers. "I mean, I'm using a real kunai here, you could get hurt if your not serious."

"Naruto! Listen to him, you've got to be more careful!" This yell came from Ino. She had been watching the production from the sidelines with Sakura. Naruto shifted his eyes over to her and smiled.

"Don't worry about it, Ino-chan." She blushed a bit at her new nickname. "I'm a lot more serious than they all think I am." He said to her with a smile before shifting his ice cold gaze over to Sasuke. "Do not underestimate Kenjutsu or Bushido. If you do, you'll pay dearly." _Ok Gramps, I'm doing like I promised! I'll show them the honor of our way! Now, I better stick to the stuff I have down, I don't wanna mess-up in the middle of this thing..._

"Tch, fine. Let's see what you can do!" Sasuke said before flinging his kunai at the blonde boy. Not even trying to move, Naruto shifted his bokuden faster than Sasuke could see and deflected the projectile which went sailing into the side of the building. Iruka's eyes almost bugged out of his skull and Mizuki dropped his pencil. The crowd, for their part, uttered a collective gasp. Even Sasuke was shocked.

"See? what did I tell you, you have your hands full now Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed, shaking a bit. _Holy crap, I can't believe that worked! Thank you Gramps! Now, lets see how he likes being on the defensive!_

Quickly following up his block, Naruto ran at Sasuke and leveled his sword for a thrust. At the last moment, Sasuke dodged to the side. Although he had avoided the brunt of the thrust, the shaft still hit his torso as it sailed by, causing quite a bit of pain. Wincing, Sasuke crouched and lashed a foot out at the over-committed Naruto, catching him in the stomach. Grunting, Naruto shifted to the side and tried to bring the hilt of his bokuden into the back of his crouched opponents skull. Sasuke caught this movement at the last moment and quickly rolled away. Now separated, both fighters re-assessed each other with critical eyes. As if on queue, the crowd erupted into whistles and cheers for the Uchiha once the initial shock was over, none had noticed that Naruto had connected, however slightly, with his initial attack.

"Hn. You're better than I thought." Grunted Sasuke as he pulled out another Kunai.

"Same to you, I can't believe I missed, guess I need to add more weight to improve my speed..." Naruto replied, fingering the bracers around his wrists. "But for now, I'll just have to settle for beating you." He undid the clasp holding them on. 20lbs of iron slid off the blondes' arms and hit the ground with a 'thud', much to the astonishment of both teachers and students. Off to the side, no one caught the conversation between shaggy-haired youth and spandex-wearing teacher.

"Sensei! He wears weights too!" Said the little boy.

"Hmmm...looks to be about ten pounds on each arm, impressive for one so young." He looked down at the boy and gave him a thumbs up. "Not as impressive as your twenty pounds on each limb, though!"

"Hai, Gai-sensei! I will raise my weights another ten pounds on each arm to keep up with this new boy! If I can't, I'll run two hundred laps around the village!" The boy exclaimed to his happy sensei.

"And if you can't do that, I'll challenge Kakashi to a foot race to Water Country! On my hands!" Gai yelled, adopting his famous 'nice guy pose'.

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

_**...Meanwhile, back at the match...**_

"Wow! Sasuke nailed him good!" The crowd had been too shocked during the fight to cheer, but now that the shock was over, they were making up for it. "I know! I'm shocked that blonde kid is still standing." "Think he's really a samurai?" "No way, he couldn't even counter-attack." "Doesn't matter if he was, a ninja can't lose to one of them anyway." "Yeah, but those weights look heavy..." Sasuke was done listening to them. The only thing on his mind now was defeating the blonde that he had underestimated.

"So Naruto, I don't see you using any other Taijutsu other than your sword skills." Sasuke said, formulating a plan.

"So? A samurai's life is his weapon, it's an extension of myself." Naruto called back, smirking. Off to the side, Ino and Sakura were starting to get a bit nervous.

"Hey, Ino. I can't believe he thinks he can still win! Even if he does wear weights, he can't beat Sasuke-kun." Whispered Sakura in a cheery voice.

"Yeah, but he's doing better than I thought he would." Ino said as she watched the two circle each other. She glanced over at Iruka and Mizuki who were now furiously writing in their notebooks. She giggled as she turned to Sakura. "I don't think our teachers expected it either...hey! There they go again!" She cried as all eyes turned to Sasuke who was now rushing towards Naruto.

"Since you can't fight without your sword, I'll just take it, it's your weakness!" He cried as he moved to grab the bokuden. Naruto slid his grip down to the base of the sword and crouched to execute a sweep, catching the Uchiha off-guard. Jumping to avoid it, he had to let go of the sword and leap on top of a near-by bench. _Tch, he won't let me get a grip. How can I get that away from him...maybe that jutsu would work...but I've never been able to do it before. _Looking back over his shoulder at the people cheering for him, Sasuke felt his confidence return. _If I can do it, they'll tell dad! Yeah! Then he'll be proud of me!_ Smirking, Sasuke went through the seals for his attack, much to the astonishment of all, especially the two instructors.

"Damn! Mizuki, those are the seals for...!" Iruka started to yell as his voice was drowned out by Sasuke.

"**Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" **Sasuke shouted. Drawing in his breath, he summoned all the chakra he could manage without passing out. The effect was amazing. A line of hot fire shot out of the young Uchiha's mouth towards Naruto. At the last moment, the blonde had the sense to block his face as flames erupted all around him. The line of fire bloated out to a giant fireball that enveloped the young swordsman and scorched the earth around him. The blonde couldn't even be seen because of the blaze. Fortunately, Sasuke could only keep the flame alive for a few moments before he ran out of chakra. Dropping to his knees on the table, Sasuke was panting hard. He had put more force into it than he intended to, but it had worked...or so he thought. The crowd stood stock-still as they watched something in front of him. From the smoke, a shape could distinctly be made out. It was short...and blonde...Sasuke's eyes widened. _Naruto! How can he be standing!_ It was then that a scream erupted from the crowd. Sasuke's eyes focused and he saw what was so frightening. Naruto, or something that looked like him, was standing bold upright. His hands had grown claws and the slash marks on his cheek had widened. He was glowing bright red and burns that were a result of the Grand Fire Ball were healing up on their own. What was most unsettling was his eyes. They were like an animals. The scream drew Naruto's attention. The crowd was starting to get antsy, some of the kids were even starting to run away. Naruto calmed down and looked at their faces. Even Iruka was shaking, looking like he had seen a ghost.

"N...no...not again..." Naruto muttered as he lost his animal-like characteristics as soon as he got them. _No, they're all scared of me! Even Iruka-sensei...no...not again..._ The scared look on Ino's face was the last thing he saw before the world went blank from chakra depletion.

"...uka-sensei!" Iruka was shaking still, even after the boy had passed out. _It...was that fox..._ He quickly shook himself out of it and searched for where the voice had come from. The little Yamanaka girl was tugging at his pants leg.

"Help Naruto! He's not moving!" She cried. Blinking, Iruka looked over to where the boy was laying. Mizuki was over by Sasuke, helping him. He too was suffering from chakra depletion, though not as bad as Naruto. He did notice a green-clad Jounin leaning down by the downed Naruto. Cursing himself for not doing his job, Iruka rushed over to the boy with Ino following. Sakura had opted to check on Sasuke.

"Gai, is he alright?" Iruka asked, leaning down by the passed-out blonde.

"Yeah, just chakra depletion. He should go to the hospital though. I could take him if you don't want...?" Gai asked. Of course he knew about Iruka's situation with the Kyuubi, but Iruka shook his head.

"No, I'll take him." He looked over at his shoulder at Mizuki who was checking Sasuke's wounds. "Mizuki, take over the class while I'm gone, I'm taking Naruto to the hospital." Mizuki only nodded as Iruka jumped to the rooftops, heading towards Kohona's hospital. Watching the two go, Ino walked over to where the boy had released the hold on his wooden sword. She picked it up, but dropped it immediately.

"Ouch..." She rubbed her palm. The hilt of the sword was burning up. She pulled off one of the bandages from her arms and wrapped up her hand before trying to pick it up again. It was light, but stable. She noticed the wood blade wasn't even charred from the fire jutsu. She looked back at Sasuke. He was being swarmed by all the girls in her class. A pang of anger shot through her at seeing Sakura hold onto his arm. _Darn, she moves fast..._ She was brought out of her thoughts by the spandex-man's bellowing voice.

"Yosh! The fires of youth burn brightly in those two! That was a match to go down in Academy history! That Genjutsu at the end was a nice touch, right Lee?" The man smiled at the shaggy-haired boy standing beside him that was looking at Naruto's weights. Ino shuddered as she saw the shine the man's teeth had. _That youth deserves this small favor I can grant him... _Gai breathed easier as the students seemed to buy that excuse.

"Hai Gai-sensei! It was truly a masterful jutsu!" The boy known as Lee exclaimed.

"Yeah, it wasn't bad, but Sasuke-kun won the match." A voice behind Ino said. Sakura had led the boy over to where the odd group was standing. Sasuke sure had seen better days, the color had drained out of his face and he was panting still, but at least he could move. "That was an amazing jutsu Sasuke-kun! Where did you learn it?"

"It's one of my clan's jutsu's, this is the first time I've been able to do it." He said, smiling. "My dad's going to love this, I have to show it to him after class."

"Better rest up first, that's a Chuunin-level jutsu, if you're not careful you'll end up like Naruto." Mizuki said, coming up behind the group. _So, that kid can actually control Kyuubi's chakra? Maybe, just maybe, I can use him...yes, it might take years though..._ A wicked smirk appeared on Mizuki's face, none of the others noticed as he began mentally working out a plan of massive planning and time. He had over four years to work it out, he thought, as he ushered the children back inside the building to begin the lesson.

_**Meanwhile, at the Hokage Tower...**_

"Well, well. That was quite a show." Mused the Sandaime Hokage as he poured him and his guest another cup of tea. They had seen the entire ordeal from start to finish on the crystal ball that was in his office.

"Yeah, I thought for sure Naruto would win. That was a fierce jutsu, I'm surprised he managed to stay upright as long as he did afterwards." Said his guest, one Shouyou Sugi. "Really wasn't expecting that ending though, anything you care to tell me about my student that I'm not privy to?" Sarutobi sighed. The man had shown up earlier in the day. The Hokage had expected it, just not so soon. He was planning on watching Naruto's first day when Sugi had knocked on his door, how he got past the ANBU on guard down the hall was a mystery to the old man. Not wanting to miss anything, he had invited Sugi in to watch just when the sparring match had started. Sarutobi had expected Sasuke to win, just not be as close a fight as it was. It was a pleasant surprise to the elderly Hokage. Of course, the Kyuubi raising it's head at the end was a quite a way to end the fight. He knew Sugi would know something was up, and he didn't quite think Gai's excuse of it being a type of Genjutsu would work here, although it was a good idea.

"I guess there's no point in lying to you, have you ever heard of the Kyuubi no Kitsune?" He noted the look Sugi shot at him as it when the words came out of his mouth. _So, this man is more well-traveled than I had believed..._

"You mean that demon fox that was raising hell around this area a few years ago? I've heard of him." Sugi said once he regained his composure.

"Yes, well, the fox had come here with the intention of destroying this village. Our Hokage at the time, my successor, thought it was necessary to seal the demon as we could not kill it. Of course, he had to use a live vassal to do it with..." Sugi rubbed his temple as it dawned on him.

"So that's it, you sealed it in that kid. That's why everyone hates him, eh?" Sarutobi nodded. "Ok, so that still doesn't explain that chakra the kid had, I thought a Ninjutsu seal would hold something like that, especially one that required a blood sacrifice." This did catch the Third off guard.

_So, he's aware of such high-level seals...I'll have to watch him. _"Quite right, normally it would, but the Fourth wanted to make sure the demon died when Naruto did, so he modified it so the beasts chakra would intermingle with Naruto's. If he left it sealed without bonding their souls, the demon would be free the moment Naruto dies. This is the first time I've ever seen the boy use the chakra though, I don't think he's in control of it."

"Ugh, I'm getting too old for this shit. I really don't care if the kids a demon or not, nor does it effect his training. He hired me for a job and I'll keep teaching him no matter what. I'm here to get those ANBU off our ass so I can start teaching him more advanced lessons." The Third raised an eyebrow.

"What kind of lessons? You're going to have to give me a good reason to drop the guard, even if I do trust you." Sugi moaned. He ran his fingers through his white beard and thought about how much he should tell the elderly Hokage.

"Chakra skills. I am a samurai, you know that much." The Hokage nodded so Sugi continued, "Secret's that should never fall into the hands of enemies, even if the war ended centuries ago. I'll even write you up monthly reports on his progress if you give me this little bit of slack, will that do? I would like to go and check on the kid before he wakes up." Without waiting for an answer, Sugi got up from his seat and started walking towards the door. He heard the Third agree on his way out. _Finally, the kid can really come into his own. Maybe having a super-powerful demon lurking inside you will help?_ He ran though the training regiment he would put Naruto though the next day as he hobbled off to the hospital.

_**At The Hospital...**_

"What...the hell hit me...?" Naruto rubbed his head. The last thing he remembered was thinking he was going to die... "Ah! That's right! Sasuke's jutsu, that bastard! He could have killed me with that!" Jumping to his feet, Naruto started cursing that 'Sasuke-teme' and shouting various threats of bodily harm on his family. So absorbed in this was he that he didn't notice the very large cage looming over him in the background...

"**Will you kindly shut the hell up? I'm trying to sleep." **Came a booming voice from the darkness around him. _Wait...darkness! Where the heck am I?_ Naruto looked around. From what he could see, all around him was pitch-black darkness except for a large gate. It had a piece of paper on it with one word: 'Seal'. A large set of glowing eyes fluttered open from behind the gate.

"W-w-who are you! Where am I!" Stuttered Naruto. He watched in horror as a large head lit up inside the cage. It looked him over before grinning, showing hundreds of vicious-looking teeth.

"**So, you've finally came. I was starting to wonder how long it would take for us to meet, kit." **The creature said. Naruto noticed that it's mouth didn't move, but he could still hear it clearly. **"So...how are you?" **

"Um...I've been better." Naruto said, still scared half to death.

"**Oh? I'm sure your wounds should have already healed. Nothing to be worried about."** The massive fox said matter-of-factly.

"Well, right now I'm more worried about my head, I'm pretty sure I hit it somewhere along the line." Naruto said, looking around.

"**You think? Why do you think so?" **The fox said, now somewhat confused.

"BECAUSE I'M TALKING TO A GIANT WOODLAND ANIMAL!" Naruto yelled at the cage. Several moments pass before the fox narrows it gaze. The boy gulps and involuntarily takes a step back.

"**I AM NOT A WOODLAND ANIMAL!" **The fox growled back now thoroughly annoyed.

"Then what the heck are you? Am I dreaming?" Now it was Naruto's turn to be confused. "That's gotta be it, no way I'm in my right mind."

"**In a way you are, but at the same time you are not. It's more like a inner vision sort of thing. I'm the thing sealed inside of you, and you're paying me a visit."**

"Sealed...inside of me? What do you mean?" Naruto asked, now even more confused.

"**Ugh, haven't you ever noticed that mark on your stomach? It looks like a spiral." **When Naruto nodded, the fox continued, **"That is a seal and I'm what's being sealed. Get it now?"**

"So...you're inside of me?" Naruto asked. He didn't like the idea of something else being inside of him that he never knew about.

"**Correct." **

"So...who are you?" The blue-clad blonde asked with a bit of the original fear seeping back into his voice.

"**Thought you'd never ask. I'm the Kyuubi. Kyuubi no Kitsune at your service, kit." **Kyuubi said with a bit of pride.

"Oh...shit..." Naruto said as he promptly fainted, the lingering sound of booming laughter filtering through his senses before he was completely out...

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Wow! I added a lot more than I intended to this chapter. Well, can't help it now. Anyway, yes I had Naruto meet Kyuubi. He's not going to have a huge part in Naruto's early development, so don't worry about Naruto turning into some uber-samurai/ninja when he's six. Oh, and also: Sasuke did know how to do the Grand Fireball when he was that little, so don't hit me! I'm going by the manga! See you guys next time! Yosh! 


	5. The Spring of Youth!

Wah! So many of you are trying to second-guess my storyline! Of course, I knew that it was a Taijutsu fight only, there was a reason Sasuke had to use a jutsu. So, that's about it I think...more characters will be added in this chapter so be sure to let me know how I'm doing! Thanks for the over 4, 600 hits in two days, that really means a lot to me! Anyway, keep up the reviews; good or otherwise, they all help me out!

Now it's time for some individual special thanks, and or, answers!

**Onikami-no-Shinobi:** You rock hardcore! The old man's style will be reviled in this chapter so keep an eye out for it. Please keep me on track if you see my relative ignorance rear it's head again. The reason Sugi was focusing more on the arms for the few weeks before Naruto joined the Academy is because he wanted to give him a quick edge before the other kids ripped him a new one, he also didn't have time to teach him an unarmed style as he only had a few weeks. The water training a good idea though, it will be tossed into this chapter as well.(there will also be another reason for it, Kyuubi gets to train Naruto a bit too!)

**HitoshirenzuKake:** Thanks for correcting all those mistakes, I'll be sure to correct them in all the other chapters as well, thanks for noticing!

**Morsamare:** The reason Naruto used a potentially lethal thrust is because Iruka did say to go all out. Also, if he would have connected a medic-nin would have been used to heal him, so that's what that's about.

**ParticleMan:** The reason I had Naruto suffer from chakra depletion is because he's only six in this fiction(for now). If you'll remember the first time he used the Kyuubi's chakra training with Jiyara he passed out. That's why I used that excuse in this fiction.

**Mahina:** Ack, I did that again, eh? I really suck at present/past tense when writing, so expect a few more mistakes in that department. I'll try to watch it better though. Thanks for caring though! It really makes an author feel better when his readers offer constructive criticism, means you care enough about the story to call me on mistakes, lol.

And a huge thanks to whomever else reviewed! I would thank you all individually, but I'm sure you would like me to get on with the story.

Disclaimer no Jutsu: I don't own Naruto, but Sugi is all mine!

**Chapter 5: The Spring of Youth!  
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"So, how is he?" Said someone from his left. Naruto could hear them, he just didn't want to bother opening his eyes. His entire body felt like it had been run-over by a million Sasuke fan girls. _Oh, right. Sasuke-teme got me with some freak fireball. _

"He'll be fine, just chakra depletion. Although, he shouldn't do this too much, the stress could one day kill him." Said another voice.

"Yeah, I'll have to watch that from now on, thanks for the help." The first voice said back. After a few moments, Naruto heard a door open and close.

"Ok Naruto, you can wake up now." The voice said. _Crap! How did he know I was awake? _Opening his eyes, Naruto saw a worried Iruka sitting beside his bed. He then looked around the room he was in, it was a lot nicer than his apartment.

"Heh, sorry Iruka-sensei, didn't want to bother you." The older man sighed as Naruto grinned.

"It's not a bother. You gave us all quite a scare back there, do you remember what happened?" Iruka asked, looking a bit apprehensive.

"**It would be better if you lied." **Loomed a voice in Naruto's head.

"Ah! What the heck?" Naruto yelled, looking all around expecting to see a giant fox somewhere in the small room.

"Uh, what's wrong Naruto?" Iruka asked, now completely confused at the blonde boy laying in front of him. "What are you looking for?"

"**Idiot! Only you can hear me! Make something up before he gets suspicious and remember, I'm sealed inside of you so all you have to do is think and I'll hear you." **Kyuubi all but yelled.

"Uh, nothing Iruka-sensei, just thought I heard someone." The boy lied. _Could have told me earlier you bastard fox!_ A mental shrug was all Naruto got in response. _How the heck can you be talking to me anyway?_

"**I suggest you get rid of your company first, kit. Even though he can't hear me he's going to find it strange that you're just sitting there doing nothing. I'll explain things then." **After he said that, Naruto could no longer feel the demon's presence in his mind, how he knew it was the demon at all was something of a mystery to him as well.

"Umm...well, I really don't remember a lot of what happened. All in all, I remember Sasuke-teme hitting me with some kinda jutsu, after that it's all blank." Not one to have much of a poker face, Iruka could tell the boy was lying and was about to call him on it when the hospital door swung open. An old man hobbled through the door. Naruto rolled his eyes at him. Why Sugi insisted on acting like a helpless old man while out in public stumped the blonde.

"Ah, thought you'd be here, kid. How's things going? How long are you going to be broke?" Sugi said with a bit of a chuckle in his voice. Iruka looked the old man over and noted that the man's 'walking stick' was an old bokuden.

"So, you're the person who's been teaching Naruto his Kenjutsu? I'm Iruka, his instructor from the Academy." Iruka got up to offer his chair to the elderly samurai who took it with a quick word of thanks.

"Yes, yes. I've been trying to teach this kid, hasn't been easy, let me assure you. You're going to be spending a lot more time with him than me, I truly pity you." The man said with a smile as Naruto stuck out his tongue at the grinning adults.

"I'm fine, Gramps. It'll take more than Sasuke can dish out to deal with me!" Naruto exclaimed as he tossed the covers off of himself so he could sit up. "I almost had him too! If he wouldn't have used that jutsu, I would have won!"

"Hmmm...maybe, but it's your own fault for assuming he didn't know any jutsu's. You can't blame him for trying to win." The old man chided.

"Actually, Naruto won the match." Iruka cut in. Naruto's jaw went slack as he stared at the smiling instructor. "If you'll remember, the match was supposed to only be Taijutsu, not Ninjutsu. Out of all the times you two locked up, he was the one retreating, so you won."

"Yeah! Sasuke-teme cheated! I think he even burn up my bokuden!" Naruto pouted. It was the nicest thing he had owned along with his weights. Sugi was quick to point out obvious. He filed the fact that he won in the back of his mind, he wouldn't hold it over Sasuke since he wanted to be the last one standing, but he would still remember it in case Sasuke started to gloat.

"And why would you think that? Your clothes are still more-or-less undamaged and your sword is muuuuuch more resistant than they are, trust me." Sugi said with a bit of annoyance.

"Yeah, Naruto. I think I saw Ino grab it, you might want to go talk to her after class lets out. In fact..." Iruka turned to a clock that was mounted on the wall. "If you hurry, you can catch her right now, class lets out in about ten minutes."

"Ah! See you Gramps, Iruka!" Naruto called back as he bolted out of bed, nearly knocking Sugi out of his chair in surprise. Several crashes out in the hall later, the noise finally died down. Sugi chuckled and moved to leave himself. He stopped for a moment and turned back to Iruka.

"You know, that kid loves ramen. There's a little shop he always goes to right after me and him get done training. I think it's called Ichiraku Ramen. I can't stand ramen, so he goes there alone each day. Anyway, I'm off. If you see that Gai guy, tell him I said thanks for covering for Naruto, he'll know what you mean." With that, Sugi hobbled out of the room leaving a confused Iruka alone.

"Ichiraku Ramen, eh? I could use a new place to eat..."

_**Meanwhile...**_

Once out of the hospital, Naruto had taken to the roofs of Konoha. Even though the going was slow, he still made his way will little leaps and jumps to get from rooftop to rooftop. _Hey fox, I'm alone now. _

"**So you are. Now, I'm guessing you want to know what's going on, huh?" **Asked the ever-present demon.

_Damn right! You just pop into my head after Sasuke-teme hits me with that jutsu, why are you talking to me now? And tell me why you're inside of me! Why did you attack the village! Why did you... _The fox sighed cutting Naruto off.

"**One question at a time! Now, as to why you can talk to me now and not earlier. You had to wake me up." **Noting the confusion in Naruto's mind, the fox explained, **"That attack the Uchiha kit used, it would have killed you if you didn't use my chakra. You see, the Forth used a very special seal to lock me up."** Naruto physically shook at the amount of killing intent he felt coming from the massive demon when he mentioned the Fourth. **"The seal he used put my soul asleep inside of you until you could deal with my powers. I don't think he intended for you to get into a situation where your mind had to wake me up so soon though. Anyway, if you die I go with you, so I helped out. You mind subconsciously called me to help and woke me up, thus I can talk to you now."**

_So...it's like a self defense? _Naruto didn't understand half of the fox's explanation, but he managed to pick out that.

"**...in a way. You'll understand later on in life so don't worry too much, what counts now is that I'm awake and we're both going to have to deal with it." **

_And my other question...?_ Naruto prodded. He really wanted to know why the demon had attacked.

"**...is my business, not yours. Anyway, I'm going to sleep for a bit now, after all that chakra I used to keep you alive, I'm just as tired as you were. If you need me, wake me up, but don't bother me too much. Since I'm a part of you, I can still see what's going on through your eyes and senses, so I won't miss much. See ya, kit." **With that, the voice stopped and Naruto was left alone.

_Oh well, at least he's not trying to kill me. Hey! I'm here!_ Naruto cleared the final roof on his way to the Academy just as it was letting out. He lingered on the roof for a moment as he watched Sasuke head off away from the gate with a flock of girls following him. Soon after, he noticed Ino walking out of the school with his wrapped-up bokuden and weights, obviously struggling to keep upright. Hurrying off to help her, Naruto didn't notice the familiar women a block away heading towards the Academy...

"Ino-chan!" Naruto waved happily. Ino looked surprised to see him so soon, she had thought he would still be in the hospital. "You picked up my stuff for me, thanks!" Naruto grinned happily before relieving the blonde girl of her burden.

"Well, I couldn't just leave your things there, some guy in green was eyeing the weights." Said guy in green had thankfully left with his pupil once the fight was cleared up, one more smile from him would have sent Ino into a eyebrow-induced coma.

"Gee, thanks a lot, Ino-chan." Naruto was planning to go back home to train with the old man, but he suddenly wanted to spend some time with the young blonde girl.

"**Hehehe." **A mental giggle(if the Kyuubi could giggle) filtered through Naruto's mind.

_Thought you were asleep..._ Naruto mentally asked as he narrowed his eyes, much to the confusion of Ino.

"**Oh, I wouldn't miss this for the world, kit. Might want to watch out for her mother though, she doesn't seem too friendly." **The Kyuubi said as it noticed the woman through Naruto's eyes. The blonde in question looked to where the demon indicated and recognized the woman instantly.

"Ino! What did I tell you the other day? Stay away from him!" Said the woman as she grabbed the little girl and forcefully moved her away from Naruto.

"Hey! Mom, what did I do?" Ino whined. She had wanted to chase after Sasuke with the other girls.

"We're going home!" She then leveled her gaze at Naruto. "And you, you stay away from my daughter, I'll make sure you don't get your claws in her!" Ino could only wave as she was dragged away from the Academy's gate leaving a very depressed Naruto staring blankly at their retreating forms.

_Why...does everyone hate me...I didn't do anything..._ Naruto asked himself.

"**..."** Naruto could feel the demon's presents but it said nothing. Sighing, he walked dejectedly back towards his apartment, strapping on his bracers on the way. Putting it off for now, he wondered what Gramps would teach him today...

_**Later...**_

"Ok, kid. Today we start the main training of my Kenjutsu style." Sugi waited for the standard Naruto cheers to die down before he continued. "Ok, as you may have guessed from where we are, my style has to deal with water." Naruto nodded as he looked around. They were outside the village once again, only this time they were at a large lake. Naruto loved being outside of the village, no one knew him out here. Sugi calmly stepped into the water and drew his bokuden. "All right, get in here kid." Naruto stepped into the water. It wasn't deep, only up to his ankles but it was still enough to impede his movements. "I watched your fight today, you should have been able to dodge that attack, especially with your weights off. Lucky for you, my style is mainly about dodging so you'll get plenty of practice. Now, let me tell you a quick history lesson about the style. It's called 'Gekido-Se-Ryuu' or 'Raging Current Style'. Like the name implies, it's about power and fluidity. You have to be able to adapt your attacks and move around your opponent like a river around a rock. The river might not be able to move the rock, but over time the current will wrap around it and erode it into dust.. The style is most effective when you're around water so we might have to find some way around that since there isn't much around here." He stopped to think for a moment and frowned. "Maybe I should teach you something different after all..."

"**No need, I can fix that. Tell him that you've got the problem covered." **The booming voice of Kyuubi cut in.

"Uh, Gramps. I understand the water problem, and I can deal with it." Naruto said, still not sure of his newest 'friend'. _I'm trusting you, you bastard fox. You screw up and I'll start charging you rent. _Laughter filled Naruto's mind before the fox went silent again. Naruto shrugged and looked back at the old man who was now thinking himself.

"Hmm...fine, you're the person who hired me so I'll teach you Gekido-Se-Ryuu if you really want to learn it." Naruto smiled at this. "Alright, let's begin. Your goal for today..." The old man started before he tossed his bokuden on the lakeside, "Is to hit me." Before Naruto could protest, the man hopped up onto the surface of the water, much to the astonishment of Naruto.

"H-how the heck are you doing that?-!" Naruto yelled. He had never seen anything like it. The old man was actually standing on the surface of the lake, not even a ripple was coming from his feet!

"Oh, this? This is something I'll teach you later on, muuuuuch later on. I don't think you'll be able to do anything like this for about...another six years at least. It requires more chakra control than you can imagine right now, even more than that jutsu the Uchiha used." He ignored the death glare Naruto was shooting at him. "Now, lets get this started, try and hit me. Oh, one rule: No leaving the water. That means you can't jump. Now, come at me!"

_Heh, even if he is on top of the water, without his bokuden he'll be an easy target!_ Charging, Naruto trudged through the water much to the amusement of the elderly samurai who just walked away. The old man was moved every time Naruto did, always staying a good distance away from the irate blonde. After an hour of this, even Naruto's stamina started to wane.

"What's wrong, kid? Seems you're not doing too well." Sugi stated in a 'you're-completely-exhausted-and-it's-obvious' tone. "Lets take a break, you can show me some new tricks you learned at class." He said as he walked over to the lakeside. Naruto frowned at his lack of success, but resigned and sat down next to his teacher.

"Eh, didn't lean much. I was out for most of the class..." His eyes darkened. _Damn! Even though I technically won, I still was the one in the hospital...I didn't want to win on a technicality either, I wanted to beat him myself. _

"**Well, the truth is kit, you can't. Not yet, anyway." **The Kyuubi added to his inner-monolog.

_Yeah, I know. He knows jutsu's and I can only do a few sword tricks. Anyway, I doubt the kids will care anyway, I saw how they looked at me. Even Iruka-sensei was scared. Ino's mom is right, I'm a monster..._ It suddenly dawned on Naruto that the Kyuubi was the reason he was treated differently. All the years of people calling him devil and monster, all of it was true. He held the Kyuubi no Kitsune, the number one enemy of Konoha. Before he could curse at the fox or start sobbing, the Kyuubi cut in.

"**...kit, you can't change who you are." **The demon sighed, it was going to be a long day.** "Look, the truth is they don't understand. If I were out again, I'd kill each and every one of them. Don't you feel the same way, kit?"**The fox grinned as menacingly as he could and projected the image into Naruto's mind.

_No! Never! I would never hurt people just because they're mean to me, it's not my way!_ He was practically screaming this at the beast. Sugi raised an eyebrow at the numerous emotions playing out on the child's face, but he held his peace.

"**Now, what does that tell you?" **He waited for a moment while Naruto searched for an answer. When he finally understood, he blinked several times and smiled.

_Heh, I get it. I'm no more you than you are me, right? _The fox mentally snorted at the young blonde.

"**Kit, you would make one horrible demon, you know?" **

_I'll take that as a compliment. _Naruto thought for a moment before getting some revenge. _On the other hand, you'd make a good human, you really cheered me up._ He got the desired effect, the fox was raging and cursing all manor of words at the boy. Naruto couldn't help but laugh causing Sugi to think the boy had snapped. After several more colorful words ended, the Kyuubi calmly curled up in a ball in his cage.

"**Fine, if you're going to be like that, I won't teach you a jutsu." **Now Naruto waged an inward war with himself: Walk away with a winning argument against one of the most powerful demons that ever walked the earth, or get a new jutsu... The fox snickered as the boy started to apologize profusely. After going through six years of memories, he could read his little jailor like a book.

**Ok, kit. I guess I'll teach you something to help you out. The old man should take a special interest in this one., it's called 'Kirigakure no Jutsu'. It lets you condense the water particles in the air to make mist, if you get exceptionally well with it, you can start to use low-level water jutsu's just from the water in the air. It also helps when you're trying to kill someone quietly since it would make a 'fog bank' of sorts."**

_All right! New jutsu, new jutsu..._ Naruto broke out into a dance while chanting 'new jutsu' over and over again in his mind. Kyuubi almost fell over laughing at the blonde idiot dancing around while Sugi decided it was best to get ready to restrain the boy as he had obviously gone insane.

"**Calm down, kit. I haven't even shown you the hand seals yet. You do know all the basic hand seals, right?"** Naruto stopped dead. Of course he didn't know them, he was only six years old. That was one of the things he was planning to learn in the Academy. He shook his head and the Kyuubi heaved a massive sigh.

"**Ugh, can't be helped. Just copy the movements I'm going to plant in your memories. Since this jutsu can't really hurt anyone, and you're not far enough along in chakra control to actually do it, practicing won't be a problem. Just be sure to do it every day until you know all these hand seals by heart, it will be your greatest weapon should that 'Raging Current Style' live up to it's name." **With that, the Kyuubi planted memories of a man weaving his hands into intricate patters. Some of them made Naruto cringe.

_How the heck can he twist his fingers like that!-? _Luckily, there were only a few seals to do so Naruto didn't think it would hurt him too much.

"**All right, kit. That's my lesson for this year." **The Kyuubi said matter-of-factly.

"NANI?-!" He didn't mean to yell, but having just found out that your number two source of training was taking a year vacation was not what Naruto thought would happen.

"**What? You didn't think I would have the patience to train you like that old human, did you? I may have taken a -small- likening to you, but no way am I going to waste that much time on you. Look, it's going to take you a few months just to get those hand seals down to the point where you can do them as fast as that Uchiha brat. After a year you should be able to actually create a small bit of fog. You've got to understand, most of the things I can teach you require an incredible amount of chakra and chakra control. Focus on learning your sword arts and I'll toss you a new jutsu each year, sound good?"**

_...fine. But you better not be lying or I'll come in there and kick your furry ass!_ The Kyuubi chuckled at his new part-time student. It had been many centuries since a human was this interesting. With a mental nod, the demon disappeared into the back of his cage effectively shutting off his mental link with his landlord.

Feeling the demon retreat, Naruto smiled at Sugi who had given up on ever understanding the boy.

"So...what the heck was that?" He asked seeing Naruto's attention focus back to reality. "You zoned out there kid."

"Ah, nothing much. I was remembering something I learned in school, you wanted to see, right?." It wasn't a total lie, the Kyuubi had taught him something, so it was sort of like school. Naruto walked back into the water. He looked through his mind at the images the fox had left. There were several strange hand movements which he tried to copy, but he got the finger placement wrong. His movements were slow and lethargic as he tried to move his hands into the correct positions. After several tries, Sugi got up from his place on the bank and headed back onto the water, still walking on top of it.

"Alright kid, stop trying to do a jutsu so we can get back to training." Sugi said as he tapped his foot on the water, still not leaving a ripple.

"Aww, let me train this! I have to learn these hand seal things." Naruto wined as he cracked another knuckle on the complex movements.

"What? You don't know hand seals? Go to the library for that sort of thing. Really, you're in a ninja village, shouldn't you already know stuff like that?" Sugi asked. He cursed inwardly when the blue-clad blonde stopped and lost some of his brightness.

"I tried to go to the library, but they kicked me out..." That had been an exceptionally bad day. All he wanted to do is get a book for a history report he had in school, but the people had chased him out, lucky for him the very book he needed was tossed at him on his way out.

"Tell you what, I'll get you that book if you start training now. I'll cut our regular training by an hour a day so you can work on those jutsu things, that sit well with you?" He smiled when Naruto nodded and picked up his bokuden. "All right kid, let's go." The sun sank in the sky as muffled curses and battle cries filled the area around the lake...

_**The Next Day...**_

"...and so, because of the large class, we'll be splitting you all up." It had been a particularly difficult training session. The old man had decided to put weights on Naruto's legs in addition to the ones on his arms. Now the poor boy had forty pounds of iron strapped to him in the form of ankle guards and bracers. He felt like his arms were about to fall off. He could barley stand thanks to the water training Gramps had put him through and his fingers felt like mush because he had stayed up all night working on learning all the basic hand seals. In short, he felt like death warmed over. Never-the-less, mentioning that the class would be split up caught his attention.

"I'll be taking half the class with me to lean at different intervals. We'll meet up once a week as a whole group for the combat class." Iruka said. He then began to read out a roll of names for the ones that would be his students. Some people Naruto knew, others he didn't, were separated. Sakura, Choji, even that weird girl Hinata were leaving. Where the first one's Naruto knew that left. Ino looked sad and happy that Sakura left, maybe because there was less competition for her 'Sasuke-kun'. Naruto almost snorted in frustration that Sasuke was in his class when the last name was called.

"And lastly, Sasuke Uchiha." Naruto almost cheered out loud. Not only did he get to stay with Ino-chan, Sasuke-teme was gone! It was bad that he didn't get to be in Iruka-sensei's class, though. _Heh, I also get to stay with Ino-chan!_ Looking at said blonde girl sitting beside him, he couldn't help but feel sorry for her, she look absolutely dejected that Sasuke was leaving. That sadness took away any happiness Naruto could claim from the Uchiha being gone.

"Uh, Ino-chan, are you alright?" He asked as kindly as possible.

"Yeah Naruto, I just guess Sakura wins now...darn it, if only I was in the same class as Sasuke-kun." She looked miserable. Naruto sighed and waged an internal war with himself. Cursing, he called out to Iruka before he and the other class could leave.

"Iruka-sensei!" He bolted upright in his seat causing the entire class to turn to look at him.

"What is it Naruto?" Iruka asked, slightly exasperated.

"Uh, could I switch classes with Sasuke? I really want to be in your class." Naruto asked. It took an inhuman effort not to add '-teme' to his name. Ino just looked up at him with a shocked and confused face.

"Well, the classes have already been assigned..." He remembered the words the Hokage had said to him the day before Naruto showed up. He had said to not see Naruto as the Kyuubi, that he had grown up alone and that he needed any comforts Iruka could give him. Iruka knew how that was, the Kyuubi had killed his family after all and he had grown up alone without anyone doing anything for him. He took one look at Naruto and saw he was looking at the little Yamanaka girl. _Oh, so that's it. She must be devastated that the Uchiha isn't in her class. The Kyuubi wouldn't care about another like that...hmmm...it must be hurting him to do this and I really should keep an eye on him myself, wonder why Mizuki wanted him anyway?_ His mind made up, Iruka nodded, much to the annoyance of Sakura and the happiness of Ino. Naruto only smiled bitterly as Sasuke headed back to his regular seat with a shrug.

"Um...thank you, Naruto-kun..." Ino said as Naruto started to walk off. She couldn't figure out why he had done it though, he hated Sasuke right? He should have been happy that he wasn't in the same class as him.

_She called me 'Naruto-kun...' _"Eh, it's nothing Ino-chan, I'll see you in a week when the classes meet back up." He replied with a smile. He walked past an somewhat interested Sasuke who was wondering the same thing as Ino. When Naruto noticed the Uchiha's attention was on him, he stuck out his tongue at the prodigy which made Sasuke turn his head and grunt. With one last wave to his former classmates, he followed after Iruka, hearing a energetic 'SASUKE-KUN!' come from the room he just exited. He flinched when a hand dropped to his shoulder.

"You know, Naruto. Sometimes people don't see what's right in front of them." Iruka said as he and Naruto lagged back behind the other kids. Sakura was already taking charge leading the class since Iruka made her class leader to placate the angry konoichi-in-training after he took 'her beloved Sasuke-kun' away from her. "Usually, they never do wake up and see what's right there, but sometimes," Iruka smirked a bit at the blonde, "Sometimes they do and then they appreciate what was waiting on them that much more." Naruto paled a bit before stuttering out a response.

"W-what makes you think I care? I just wanted to have you as a teacher!" Naruto said defensively. Iruka chuckled a bit.

"Well thanks, Naruto. Oh, I hear you like ramen?" Naruto immediately perked up. "I've been looking for a new place to eat dinner, do you happen to know any good ones that you go to a lot?" And thus the two went with certain blonde extolling the virtues of a certain ramen stand to a interested Chuunin with a sympathetic ear...

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Ha, you guys didn't really think I'd slap Naruto and Ino in class together, did you? No way I'd make it that easy on him! So yeah, no uber-powerful Naruto in this fiction, Kyuubi is just too lazy to help much. Next chapter is going to have a series of snap-shots from Naruto's life up too graduation. No way I can write the chapters needed to fill up six years of Naruto's life! It will probably be a huge chapter though, I can't get by with just a few words per year. Expect it to take a bit longer as well. I hope no one minds the ooc Kyuubi, I just like him to much to make him -super- evil! Well, read and review and see you guys next time!

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-Jutsu List-(thought this would be a good addition) 

_**-Kirigakure no Jutsu(Hidden Mist Skill)-**_  
A highly effective cover technique. Blankets an area in a thick fog, confusing the senses of the enemy.

And yes, Sugi was using chakra to walk on the water, props to whomever caught that.


	6. Empires That Wax and Wane

Yosh! How is everyone? So wow, this fiction actually breaks 20,000 words! Amazing. There is no way I could have done this without the guidance and support from my loyal readers. This chapter is one I'm particularly proud of because most of it is written in first-person by the person writing the individual writing the notes/reports. I think you all will like this chapter, because it's my best writing style. Now, on with the chapter!

Disclaimer no Jutsu: I still don't own Naruto, but I still own Sugi!

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**Chapter 6: Empires That Wax and Wane**

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**"From the notes of Umino Iruka, instructor at the Ninja Academy of Konoha."**

_Well, it's been four months since I've started teaching the new class of students. After the incident between Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke I decided to split the classes, separating the two. The Hokage has personally decreased to all ninja present at the time of the fight to treat the events that transpired there as a S-Class secret, therefore no more about it will be put into my notes. The real shock of the fight was the way Naruto moved. He actually put Sasuke through his paces every time the two locked up. The winner of the match was, in fact, Naruto but he has asked me to keep that to myself. He insists that he will beat 'Sasuke-teme' on his own. If it was several weeks ago, I would have agreed he would be able to do it, now however there are...circumstances... Sasuke's older brother, Itachi Uchiha, betrayed the village and murdered his entire clan. He has since been declared a missing nin and a S-Class criminal, one to be killed on sight. The psychological effect this has had on Sasuke is monumental, his entire temperament has changed overnight. He is now more focused on his work and practices Taijutsu more so than anyone in his class, that much I have seen myself. Mizuki, who runs the class Sasuke is in, has stated that the Uchiha is now more detached from his classmates, even Ino whom he had been warming up to. Speaking of the young Yamanaka girl; Her talents are quickly propelling her to the top of the class, even giving Sasuke a run for that title. It seems that without any direct competition for Sasuke's attention, which he still does not direct at her, she is more focused on her work. Even her families' special mind abilities are starting to show: she has developed a low-level Genjutsu. It's not much, but it does make a person's vision loose focus if they try to look directly at her when it's active. So far she can only hold it for thirty seconds before she's out of chakra, but I am confident Mizuki can train her to the point where she can at least keep it active for several minutes. She calls it "Nentou Fusenmei no jutsu" or "Mind Blur Skill." Mizuki has wrote up a full report and has sent it to Inoshi, Ino's father. Now, on to Naruto Uzumaki; He is one of the best fighters in his class with Taijutsu, even giving Kiba Inuzuka, our classes best Taijutsu fighter, a good match when I have them spar. What he lacks in strength, he makes up for with speed and precision. While he is still clumsy in some moves, he is catching up quickly with his other class mates and looks to be one the Academies fastest ninja, Rock Lee not withstanding. Using Kenjutsu he can hold his own against any of his classmates, but without it he falls into the middle of the pack. He wears training weights, ten on each limb, and takes them off when he fights. It seems he is avoiding using Ninjutsu, when I ask him about it, he says "I'm keeping it as my trump so I can stomp Sasuke-teme!" His personality has changed very little, he still pulls pranks on his fellow students and instructors. He is learning all the hand seals with the rest of his class, but he shows aptitude in doing a select few. It seems he is trying to teach himself on the side. He is lacking in some area's however, his core ninja training is far behind anyone else in his class. Information gathering, stealth, ect...his speed is the only thing that could pass as 'ninja-like' in that capacity. He has developed a peculiar dream though. He declares on a daily basis that he will become Hokage one day and end animosity between the Samurai and Ninja. It will be interesting to see whether or not he can accomplish this dream..._

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"**Official Naruto Report from Shouyou Sugi"**

_Hello there, Sarutobi! Here's my report for the week on Naruto. So, it's been a year living with the little kid and I'm not dead yet, guess that's a good thing, eh? Not much training this week because he wanted to have a day off for his birthday. I got him the a new set of clothes, he really loves blue now, go figure. He's progressing well in his Kenjutsu, if not a bit slower than usual. Of course, he's splitting his training time into so many angles it's amazing he time for me at all, haha. He speed has grown even more than I thought it would, I guess that ninja training is good for something after all. From what Iruka tells me, his weak point is unarmed Taijutsu. I understand that, he insists on spending all his time with me working on Kenjutsu because no one else can teach him. He has, however, learned something very interesting. Apparently he can use a jutsu that I didn't think you guys taught. It's a boon for his sword skills since many of the more advanced techniques in my style use water, but I do wonder where he picked it up from. He's so secretive of the stuff he lets me see, but I guess he was too excited to keep it to himself. The jutsu in question is 'Kirigakure no Jutsu'. I ran into it while I was traveling through Water Country, but never learned how to do it. The kid can actually use it fairly well, he can make enough mist to fill a small room. When he tries to do it outside, however, the mist blows away before he can do anything with it. I have no idea where he learned it, but he does read the odd book from time to time. I'll tell you if I ever find out which one he got it from. I think he might know another one like it too, I heard him say something about mist clones earlier today, guess the kid is a real fish-out-of-water. His chakra control is getting better, I expect him to be on par with any of this classmates when the time of graduation comes up. Using the special techniques of my Style, he can use chakra to reinforce his bokuden making it harder, how else could I use the same sword for over three decades? He is suffering from kunai training, I don't think I can do anything about that. He's as confident as ever though, he made a bet with me that if he can handle twenty pound weights on each leg and arm by the end of the year, I have to show him one of my better attacks. Ha, like that squirt can do that. Anyway, I have decided to teach the boy how to open the Celestial Gates. Don't worry though! I'll teach him when he turns 11, that's one year before he graduates. From the training, it will take him until his graduation to condition his body to be able to open the first one. Can you imagine the speed he'll have when he does it? I think your little Rock Lee will have some competition. Don't tell Gai though, that senile fool will double the poor kids training just to keep up! Well, see you next week._

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"**Special ANBU Report Number 1597a: Subject 'Shouyou Sugi'"**

_This is a report for the special A-Class mission ordered by the Hokage himself. The target is Shouyou Sugi, a samurai currently residing in Konoha and side-teacher of Naruto Uzumaki, a two-year student at the Ninja Academy. Hokage-sama commissioned this report shortly after he called off the official ANBU detail that usually followed Uzumaki around, that was two years ago. From the information I have gathered since then, it seems the initial assessment made by one of my fellow ANBU members was off about Shouyou Sugi. That report described him as 'Chuunin-level at best', in my investigation I have found that to be a gross understatement. From the limited training sessions he regularly has with Uzumaki, I have witnessed him display Jounin-level skill and advanced chakra manipulation. His Kenjutsu, which he calls 'Gekido-Se-Ryuu' or 'Raging Current Style' seems to rely heavily on water being nearby, but not for the form itself, only for the chakra attacks it employs. I, personally, have only witnessed one such attack, thus prompting me to call of this mission due to my early retirement from ANBU. The attack in question was shown due to Uzumaki having a bet with Shouyou. I do not know the specifics, but it appears the condition was that if Uzumaki won, Shouyou would show him a high-level skill. The attack started with Shouyou using chakra water walking to go out into the center of "Jenerikku Lake", the pair practice there primarily. Once there, he began to spin his wooden sword in his outstretched hand. It appeared that he was using chakra to keep the center of the sword hovering just out from his palm and spinning it like a propeller. After the blade was spinning at its zenith, he used his foot to kick up water in front of the sword/propeller and the effect was instantaneous: The water was sucked up like a reverse drain spinning out from the blade. It seems that once a bit of water is pulled up in front of the vortex, it pulls more and more into a giant reverse tornado that twirls the water into a devastating force, something like a water drill. The lake itself looked like it would be blown away from the wind coming off of the attack. The water drill shot out from his spinning sword and took out several trees before he stopped the attack. I later found out the name of the attack was 'Gekido Gufuu Ken' or the 'Raging Typhoon Sword'. I found out the name because Sugi himself told me as I was laid out on the ground for I was in one of the trees his attack destroyed. He said, "Make sure you spell it right when you write your report, some people spell Typhoon like 'tyfoon', I don't want my attacks being screwed up by spelling errors." As I said, my resignation is attached to the back of this report._

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**"From the notes of Ashiya Mizuki, co-instructor at the Ninja Academy of Konoha."**

_Today was...interesting to say the least. It has been four years since I've started to teach what everyone is calling 'the most talented class of this generation.' I don't know if I agree with them completely, but I must say it's been quite a ride. Two years to go before graduation and I can honestly say Sasuke Uchiha has come into his own. His Ninjutsu is the best of his generation, he has a good grasp of Genjutsu, and his Taijutsu is nothing short of amazing. Ever since his clan was murdered several years ago, he has made it his purpose to excel in the Academy and to that end he has met success. His grades are immaculate and he is quickly catching up to Neji Hyuuga as the number one rookie of Konoha. Also in his class are several other rising stars. Ino Yamanaka is the top konoichi in my class, I understand that Sakura Haruno from Iruka's class is also something to see. A fierce rivalry has sprung up between the two girls a little over two years ago since Sakura started trying to get the young Uchiha's attention after class. While I don't condone it, it does seem to drive both girls to do better. Ino has done exceptionally well in Genjutsu and I'm running out of things to teach her in that area. Her special family jutsu's are really starting to come out along with several jutsu's of her own design. Strangely enough, she also has talent in Taijutsu and is the top female in the class, her Ninjutsu skills are average. When the classes meet up once a week for joint sparring, she spends most of her time fighting with Sakura over Sasuke's attention, which he does not return to either of them. Naruto Uzumaki, one of Iruka's enigma students, often tries to goad the young Uchiha into fights. He usually turns him down, but this last week he accepted due to a bout of particularly poignant insults and what transpired was something...truly unique. Sasuke started the fight by using 'Goukakyuu no Jutsu' to which Uzumaki used the 'Suiton Suijinheki' to block it. It was a clash as Naruto summoned water from inside his chest. He didn't have as much control over it as Sasuke did with his Grand Fireball though. It was amazing because the Suiton Suijinheki is a Jounin level technique. Uzumaki was still hit by some of the fireball and that left him open for a Taijutsu assault from Sasuke. Naruto saw it, but seemed to be detracted by something, he was yelling "Don't tell me which jutsu's I can and can't use you freeloader!" It cost him the match. Sasuke executed a genius combo and floored Naruto. Iruka called the match at that point, much to the disappointment of Naruto who insisted he was good enough to continue. I think Iruka knew he was, it was just the property damage those two were causing...it's going to take weeks to replant new trees that were burnt up and an army of janitors to mop up all the water that managed to flood the first floor of the school, not to mention my new leather shoes are ruined..._

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"**To the Third Hokage from the future Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki"**

_Hey old man, I'm writing this to personally invite you to see me pass my graduation test next week! Iruka-sensei said you can sit in if you want, I'm having Gramps come too. Iruka-sensei says I'll have to do some jutsu to pass, but I'm not worried about it. It'll be the best birthday gift ever when I get to be a ninja. Gramps already says if I pass he'll give me my first real sword and then I'll be a low-level samurai too! I also know a whole bunch of water jutsu's, no way Sasuke-teme can touch me now, right? Gramps taught me a very special skill last year, I think he told you about it. I wanted to be able to show it to you, but I haven't mastered it yet, you can't imagine how much stamina it takes to open one of those Gates! Well, I guess you can since you're the Hokage and all...anyway, just be sure to show up, I can really cut loose if I know you're watching me. _

The Third Hokage looked over the letter he had received one week ago. It was all he ever wanted for the boy, his finally becoming a ninja. He knew it wouldn't automatically solve the boys problems with the villagers, but it would be a start. Sarutobi ran his hand over the wrapped box sitting on his desk. He had thought long and hard on what to give Naruto for his graduation/birthday. He new the boy's dream, so he thought that this would be the best thing for him. It was hard getting it though, it had taken several weeks to be custom made to fit the young ninja-in-training. _Well, maybe not in training for much longer. I know he'll like this, but I think Iruka's gift is one he'll appreciate more._ He added as an after thought and a smirk. He had cleared his morning of all work, no way he would miss this. He knew that the Bunshin skill was Naruto's worst one and that's why he told Iruka to use it for the exit test. He would have to make Naruto work to become a ninja because of the destiny he had, such responsibility was not to be given lightly. The boy would have to overcome his greatest trial to pass, but the Third did not have any doubts that he wouldn't do it, he was _his _son after all. He was brought out of his thoughts by his secretary calling him over the intercom.

"Hokage-sama, the graduation will begin soon." The voice said.

"Ah, so it does. You know where I'll be should anything important come up." Sarutobi said as he picked up the wrapped box.

"Hai Hokage-sama." The voice replied as it clicked out of existence. The Third smiled and walked out to the balcony of the Hokage Tower, then with a -poof- of smoke, he was gone.

_**Meanwhile at the Academy...**_

"Ok you guys, now it's time for the graduation exam! You will all have to do the Bunshin no jutsu to be able to pass. Now, I will call you into the exam room one at a time for the test, good luck to you all." Iruka said as he stood in front of the class. This was it, the day of proving he was good enough to become a ninja and samurai. Naruto looked over at the old man sitting up against the wall holding a long, curved box. It was like the one his bokuden came in, but slightly longer and had fewer designs on it. Naruto gulped.

"So, that's my sword...yeah! This is going to be great! I'll pass this exam and become a ninja and samurai on the same day, plus it's my birthday!" Naruto exclaimed to no one in particular. _If I can make a stupid Bunshin, why did they have to pick that one..._

"**Birthday to you, funeral for me."** A slightly agitated voice cut into Naruto's celebration.

_Aww...are we upset? It could have been worse, you could have been flat-out killed. At least you live a few more years. _Naruto taunted. The fox always got snippy around this time of year. He had taught Naruto useful jutsu's over the years and it was nice to have a constant companion, although neither would ever admit it.

"**Humph. Say what you will, kit. Just hurry up and get this over with and I'll teach you your most powerful skill to date." **That got Naruto's attention. Most of the jutsu's Kyuubi taught weren't used for attacking, with the exception of the _Suiton Suijinheki_ and even that was a stretch to say it was an offensive jutsu. He was brought out of his inner monolog when he heard a squeal for joy.

"Yeah! I'm a ninja now! How's that Sasuke-kun?" A happy Ino bounded out of the examination room and showed off her forehead protector to a uninterested Sasuke. Ino stuck her tongue out at an annoyed Sakura who had also passed. Naruto looked at her for several minutes before someone tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey, you're up, Naruto. Iruka's been calling you for a few minutes." Said the person behind him.

"Oh shit! Coming Iruka-sensei!" Naruto leapt down from the row he was sitting on and ran towards the exam room.

"**Wow, you've got it bad for that one, kit."** The fox muttered. Naruto responded by imagining the Kyuubi as a fox chibi. Even as it used words that would make Anko blush, Naruto couldn't help but go 'Awww' at the little fox hopping up and down angrily in it's cage. Early on Naruto had figured out his mind was the one giving the fox his appearance, so his favorite revenge was to imagine it as some cute woodland animal, much to the demon's ire. Walking into the exam room, Naruto was surprised to see not only Iruka, but the Third was sitting in with him.

"Old man, you came!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Of course, I wouldn't miss this after you personally invited me." The Third replied with a smile. "Now, I expect you won't disappoint me on the exam, right?"

"No way! All I have to do is make a Bunshin, right?" When Iruka and the Third nodded, Naruto horridly ran though several hand seals.

"**_Kirigakure no Jutsu!" _**Naruto said as he finished up the last seal. He summoned a small amount of mist, not nearly enough to obscure the examiners from the boy. Before any of them could say anything, Naruto started more hand seals. "**_Mizu bunshin no jutsu!"_** With those words, two water clones formed into existence from the mist lingering in the air, effectively ending the hidden mist jutsu.

"Good work, Naruto. Very good improvisation." Iruka said, holding up a forehead protector. Naruto stared at it for a moment before breaking out in an extra-foxy grin. He canceled his water clones and walked over to the table to retrieve his forehead protector.

"Thanks, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto said as he ran his fingers over the polished plate with the leaf symbol on it. He put in on under his blonde bangs. He noticed the Third smile even more as he pulled out a large box from under the table.

"Here you are Naruto, happy birthday and graduation." He said as he held out the box. Naruto blinked, he wasn't expecting anything more. He hurriedly ripped the paper off and opened the box. His eyes went wide as he stared at what was in it.

"It's...great! Thank you!" Naruto exclaimed as he held up a light blue trench coat. He noticed the white wave patters adorning the hem and back. It was short sleeve so his arms could have more maneuverability. He slipped it on over his dark blue vest. He turned to a stunned Iruka.

"He...looks like the Fourth..." Iruka managed to croak out.

"Yes, I had it custom made to look just like his. Naruto, I think that coat will serve you just as well as his did. After all, you have a dream to be a Hokage, now you actually look the part." The Third said with a chuckle.

"Yeah! Now all I have to do is get Gramps to pass me and I'll be ready to take on anything anyone can dish out at me!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Well, I'd go talk to him then. Also, could you go tell Sasuke to come in here? It's his turn now." Iruka said.

"Ugh, fine. Don't suppose you guys could fail him this year so I can hold it over his head?" Naruto took the twin glares as a 'no' and walked out of the room. His good mood fell further when he saw Ino latched onto Sasuke and Sakura zoning out staring at his face.

"Hey, Sasuke-teme, your turn." Naruto ignored the death glare that was shot at him by Sakura and Ino. Sasuke looked at his new outfit and snorted.

"Dobe, what is that thing? You look ridiculous." Sasuke said pointing at Naruto's new trench coat. Ino and Sakura looked him over as well.

"Ha, I'm getting fashion advice from someone who doesn't even know his own shirt size?" Naruto shot back. After trading insults with an angry fox demon for six years, he had developed a sharp tongue. As expected, Sasuke just grunted and headed off to the exam room.

"Naruto! Don't taunt Sasuke-kun!" Ino pouted at the loss of the Uchiha's arm from her grasp. Sakura, however, seemed to still be in her day dream.

"Really, I don't know what you two see in him. He has the personality of a wet mop, always brooding about one thing or the other." Naruto said in a pout of his own. He and Sasuke had been rivals since the first day of the Academy due to their fight, but Naruto held as a rival for something else.

"**Aww, is the girl not paying you any attention?" **Kyuubi said, waking up from his afternoon nap.

_NO! That's not it! I just don't see why she throws herself at him. There is absolutely nothing that's anywhere remotely interesting about that guy._

"**Yeah, you know what I hear? 'Blah, blah, blah. Ino won't look at me because Sasuke is cooler.'" **The fox mocked in a bad Naruto impression. Right before world war III broke out in Naruto's mind, Sasuke walked out of the exam room followed by Iruka, the Hokage had disappeared like he always does. Sasuke had his forehead protector on which made Ino all but swoon.

"See, Naruto? That's why we like Sasuke-kun, he's so gorgeous!" Ino squealed. Naruto almost flooded the building when Sasuke gave a smug smile in his direction.

"Now we'll pick teams to see who will have a chance to become a Genin." The students all stopped talking to listen to Iruka. Naruto zoned out until he heard his name being called.

"...Team Seven: Naruto Uzumaki, Ino Yamanaka..." Naruto was barely containing his excitement. Iruka could see the look on Naruto's face all the way down in the front. _Heh, happy birthday, Naruto. Too bad I have do this..._ "...and Sasuke Uchiha."

"Yes! Take that forehead girl!" Ino shouted, forming a 'v' for victory sign while grinning ear-to-ear. Naruto just looked stunned and Kyuubi just laughed at the irony of it all.

"Damn it..." Naruto muttered to himself. The best chance he had to get Ino away from Sasuke was blown to hell. Said boy was simply staring death glares at Iruka. Naruto rolled his eyes when Iruka called off class early so they could meet with their Jounin teachers. Sasuke stayed where he was thus Ino stayed glued to his side. Naruto looked over to where his samurai teacher had been and was happy to see the man asleep in his seat. _Well, I could use something to cheer me up and I've been looking forward to this for awhile._ Naruto walked over to where the old man was and kicked his chair causing Ino and Sasuke to look over at him.

"Hey Gramps, wake up. The exam's over." Naruto said as he pulled the old man's beard.

"Huh? -yawn- It is? How'd you do?" The man said as he stretched, his bones popping.

"Heh, was there any doubt? I passed with flying colors!" Naruto said proudly. The old man finally woke up and looked Naruto over.

"Well, don't we look sharp? Where'd you get that?" He said as he stroked his long beard.

"It was a present from the old man, said the Fourth had something like it." Naruto said as he sat down across from the old samurai.

"The Fourth?" Ino said, taking interest in the conversation, Sasuke just watched the exchange out of the corner of his eye trying to seem non-interested. Before Naruto could go on, Sugi cleared his throat gaining all their attention.

"So, you passed the exam, eh? I did say I'd give you your first real sword if you did, so here. Take good care of it, kid." Sugi said as he held out the box he had been holding. Naruto took it with shaking hands while Ino poked her head over his shoulder to watch. Naruto studied the case itself. It was onyx black like the one his bokuden had come in, but only had one symbol on it, a crescent moon. Naruto opened the top and had to gasp. The katana inside was about four and a half feet long. It's handle was as black as it's scabbard and the hilt was blood red. He took it out and unsheathed the blade. It was a blue-ish color that had a wave-like patter run the entire length of the blade. It was light, even more so than his bokuden, which he was still wearing strapped to his back. Sugi smiled at the captivated boy.

"So, I take it you like the sword?" With an absent minded nod, Naruto kept examining it as Sugi continued, "It's name is 'Munashii', treat it well as it was my first real sword. That blade has seen more battles than any ninja in this village, it won't let you down." The man said, adopting an out of character tone. "Anyway, you've passed my first stage of training, Naruto! You should be ecstatic, you're now a full-fledged samurai. Now, tie that sword to your waist and feel some pride in your accomplishments over the past six years, you've earned it." Naruto did as directed and sheathed the sword before hanging it at his waist. He felt...complete somehow. Ino looked him over before whistling out loud.

"Wow Naruto, you look..." Just as she was about to finish this, the door to the classroom slid open and a lazy-looking man walked in. He was reading some orange book and most of his head was covered by something, whether it was half his face with a mask or his left eye with a forehead protector. Naruto cursed him for his timing. _Damn! Just when Ino was going to say something to me..._

"Wow...I've got a bunch of weirdoes to teach this year." The man said as he looked them all over. He seemed to get serious when he looked at Naruto, but he soon shifted his eye to look at the others. Sugi took this opportunity to excuse himself, only catching a glance from the silver-haired man on his way out. "So, let's get to know each other, eh? Lets head up to the roof." And with a -poof- he was gone.

"...was he really our Jounin instructor?" Sasuke muttered, still a bit shocked at the man's appearance.

"Yeah, he doesn't seem too...ninja-like." Said Ino. Naruto simply rose from his chair and started for the door.

"Come on, we can worry about all that later, let's not disobey our first order." Naruto noticed the confused look on their faces before blushing and rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, when you have a teacher like Gramps, you learn to not underestimate anyone." Naruto said as he ran on ahead towards the stairs.

"Naruto...just when did you grow up so much?" Ino whispered as she and Sasuke followed a certain blue-clad samurai on their way to see the man who would change their lives...

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Finally! I'm up to where the manga starts. Let me tell you, it's been a bear getting this far. Next time on Bushido no jutsu: Kakashi gives his students the bell test, Ino has a mind trap in store just for Kakashi, and Naruto shows off his ultimate assassination technique!  



	7. Kakashi vs The Trio of Terror!

So wow, this fiction has beaten my first one in terms of hits, favorites, and alerts. That is something I never expected. Again, thanks to all my loyal readers, although some of your praise is a bit too much, this story can get better and I won't rest until it is. I'm still working on my writing style, so it should get better with future chapters. Now, on with the chapter! Don't forget to read & review!

Ok, folks. I need ideas on future pairings in the fiction. Tell me your ideas about who should go with who! I love odd pairings so try to think outside the box. I'll pick which ones to use based on the number of votes, so tell me what you want to see!

EDIT: Ack! I didn't make myself clear on the voting thing. I ment you could vote for pairs **other** than the NarutoxIno main one. Sorry, don't kill me!

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**Chapter 7: Copy Ninja Kakashi vs. The Trio of Terror!**

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"So, tell me a bit about yourselves. Name, likes and dislikes, goals for the future, things like that." The group had finally made their way up to the roof where their teacher was. He looked half asleep and was lazily reading a copy of "Ichya Ichya Paradise", much to the embarrassment of the three Genin.

"Hey! Don't you think you should tell us about yourself first? I mean, we don't even know your name." Naruto yelled out in irritation. Sasuke, Ino, and himself were arrayed in a line sitting in front of the Jounin who was still reading his book, never moving his eye to them.

"Oh...me? My name is Hatake Kakashi. I have no desire to tell you about my likes and dislikes. My goals for the future...ha." When it became obvious that he wasn't going to say anymore, Ino leaned over and started a huddle with the two boys.

"All we learned is his name..." She said.

"Well, I've heard of him before, he's supposed to be an elite Jounin." Naruto added.

"What? How do you know that, Dobe?" Sasuke asked in an way that make him seem uninterested even when he was in the conversation.

"Gramps makes me study sometimes, you bastard. Unlike you I don't spend all my time thinking up new ways to scowl." Before Ino and Sasuke could exact wrathful vengeance on a certain blonde haired samurai, Kakashi coughed reminding the three that they were not alone.

"So, the blonde boy goes next. Tell us about yourself." Kakashi said, flipping the page in his book. Naruto smiled and puffed out his chest.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I like ramen, Gramps, the old man, and thinking up new Kenjutsu and Ninjutsu moves! My dream is to become Hokage and end the distrust between the Samurai and Ninja, and to get a certain person to acknowledge me..." He added the last bit sheepishly before leaning back on his hands. Kakashi blinked a few times before looking back down at his book. _So, that kid really was trained as a Samurai...Hokage huh? Interesting way he turned out. And what was that bit about a certain person to acknowledge him?_ He watched as Naruto's eyes stole a glance at the young blonde konoichi currently ogling the Uchiha kid and groaned. Teenage hormones were an enemy he did not want to deal with.

"Alright, fine." He turned to the raven haired boy who was trying to look annoyed as the blonde haired girl latched onto his arm. "Your turn Casanova." He smiled under his mask as Sasuke glared at him then pulled his arm out of Ino's iron grip.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. There are a lot of things I don't like, not many things I do. My dream...no, my ambition, is to kill a certain man and restore my clan." Sasuke said as he stared intently off into the distance. Kakashi mentally sighed. _Thought so..._ He then directed his attention to the little blonde girl with the long ponytail.

"And you?" He said as he started to read his book again.

"I'm Ino Yamanaka! I like flowers, my perfect hair, Sasuke-kun," She winked as she said his name, Sasuke grunted while Naruto's eye twitched, "and coming up with new Genjutsu. I dislike people who annoy Sasuke-kun and other girls who try to sink their claws into him! My dream is to master all of the families jutsu's and...to be the first girl to kiss Sasuke-kun!" She exclaimed while latching herself onto the flustered Uchiha's arm yet again. Kakashi big-sweated and his eye twiched. _Well, at least she's not shy..._ Thoughts of how much this girl reminded him of a certain perverted hermit, only with reversed genders were quickly shaken off as he felt the killing intent in the air raise a few levels, Sasuke and Ino seemed to not notice that it was coming from Naruto. _Oh, this isn't going to be pretty..._ Kakashi hastily defused the situation by snapping his book shut, getting them all to focus on him once again.

"Ok, now that that's over, I'm going to take off. Meet me at training area seven tomorrow morning." He started to put his book away when he added as an afterthought, "And don't eat breakfast."

"Why not?" Ino asked as she looked up at him from her place by Sasuke.

"Just because. I suggest you get some rest, because tomorrow the real test begins. If you fail, you'll be tossed back into the Academy." Before he was berated by two angry blondes, he went -poof- and left them on the roof.

_**Later in the day...**_

"Damn him!" Naruto exclaimed as was sitting at his favorite ramen stand. "I can't believe this, how can he even think about sending us back to the Academy after all we've been though?-!"

"Calm down Naruto, I've talked to Sakura, her teacher is doing the same thing." Ino said as she slurped up more of her miso ramen. "He's a Jounin so he can't expect us to beat him in combat or anything, so it can't be too hard." Naruto had suggest that the team go out to dinner to celebrate, but Sasuke had declined only giving his trademark "Hn" in response. Naruto didn't care though, without him here it kinda felt like...

"**A date?" **Came a snide voice from the back of Naruto's mind.

_No! It's just...nice to hang out with her without her hanging all over Sasuke-teme. _Naruto retorted. He knew he was in for it when he heard the fox sigh.

"**Look, kit. You're going to have to step up if you want her. Sitting around doing nothing and regretting it is not a good way to go through life." **The fox said in a exasperated voice. Naruto mulled that over for a bit before responding.

_Heh, be careful fur ball, if you talk like that I might start to think you care. _Indignant denials aside, the fox got relatively quiet, so Naruto assumed he had said his piece on the matter. _Maybe...I should take his advice...I have to do this very carefully though..._

"Hey, Ino? What makes you think we can't beat Kakashi-sensei?" Ino looked at him with a 'how-dumb-can-you-be' look.

"Because he's a Jounin. Not even Sasuke-kun could beat him now." _As much as I hate to admit it...Sasuke-kun can beat him in a few years, though!_

"Hmm...care to make a bet?" Ino's eye arched as she regarded Naruto. "If I can beat him, you have to buy me dinner. A nice one!" _Ha! She'll be going out on a date with me and she won't even know it, I'm a genius!_

"Ha, like you could do that. When you lose, what do I get?" Ino said, a bit amused.

"Umm...whatever you want?" Naruto said. He hadn't thought of the possibility of him losing.

"Heh, I have the perfect thing. When you lose, you have to call Sasuke-kun 'Sasuke-dono' from now on!" Ino said in a happy voice. No way would Naruto agree to that.

"...done." Naruto said as he stood up from the stand. Ino was too shocked to say anything as he waved and ran down the street. _No way...why would he care that much about a free dinner?_ Ino asked herself as she finished up her ramen. She paid the man and headed off to her house, all the while fighting down the suspicion that tomorrow was going to be very interesting...

_**At the Lake...**_

"Alright fox, time to pay up." Naruto had come here straight from the ramen stand, eager to get his new jutsu for the year. He hadn't forgotten that Kyuubi said it was a offensive jutsu and was determined to learn it before heading off to the training ground in the morning. "No way I'm calling that bastard 'dono'!"

"**Hey, don't get mad at me kid, you're the one who made the bet." **The fox said, yawing as he did so. "**But, I don't like that kid either so I'll teach you, go stand by the lake."** Naruto did as he was told and waited for the fox to continue. **"All right, this jutsu is called 'Suiton Daibakufu no Jutsu' or the 'Water Explosion Skill'. It's a very high-level jutsu, I imagine you'll only be able to use it once or twice before you'd be in danger of chakra depletion." **

"Ha, I'd only need to hit the guy once with it for it to work, show me the seals." The fox muttered about 'over confident idiots' before projecting the seal sequence into Naruto's mind. He was amazed by the shear number of them and the speed which they were being carried out. "You're kidding me! Not even my special attack has that many seals!"

"**Oh well, guess you really don't want to win that bet..." **The fox trailed off, knowing it would have the desired effect. Naruto grumbled and started working through the seals while afternoon drained into night...

_**The Next Morning... **_

"Sasuke-kun!" It was morning, ten minutes before team 7 was supposed to meet up with their sensei, Kakashi. Sasuke had decided to cut the time close as to minimize the attention of a certain blonde konoichi. Naruto was off to the side in a lotus position with his katana laying on his lap, it's black sheath shimmering in the morning light, his blue trench coat fanning out behind him. He paused in his meditations to regard Sasuke for a moment, then went back to whatever it was he was doing. Sasuke had never seen him so focused.

"Uh, Ino..." Sasuke started. Ino eyes shone with happiness since the Uchiha had decided to talk to her... "What's the Dobe doing?"

_Darn it, he only wants to know about Naruto... _"I don't know, Sasuke-kun. He's been like that ever since I got here a few minutes ago. I tried to talk to him, but he said he was 'preparing for Kakashi'. He's really taking this bet too seriously..." Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"What bet?" He asked. Ino just looked confused at him for awhile before answering.

"Uh, we were talking last night at the ramen stand about this challenge thing. Somehow we got onto the topic of how strong Kakashi was and he made a bet with me that if he could beat Kakashi, I would buy him a nice dinner." Sasuke smirked.

"So, Dobe isn't as dumb as I thought." He said as he sized up the blonde boy sitting beside the river that was winding past the training ground.

"What are you talking about, Sasuke-kun? It's just a free dinner, I don't see why he's taking it so seriously." Ino said as she pouted. _I really don't want him to get beat up over something as stupid as food. _She was shocked when Sasuke chuckled.

"You have no idea, huh?" When Ino looked at him confused, he shook his head and shrugged. "He doesn't care about the food, he just wants to-" He was cut off by his senses. A large amount of chakra was coming towards them, Ino noticed too and her hand snaked down to her kunai pouch. Before either of them knew it, a familiar silver-haired Jounin popped into existence in a cloud of smoke. Kakashi noticed that the blonde girl and Uchiha had sensed him.

_Pretty good, it would take Chuunin-level chakra control to be able to sense me. Just maybe these guys will come through for me..._He looked over at the last member of the team who was still silently meditating by the river._ Ugh, guess they kept that old tradition of sticking the worst student with the best._ "Well, glad to see you all made it. Now, the purpose of this exercise is to see if you're all Genin material." He pulled out two bells from his kunai pouch and jingled them, effectively getting Naruto's attention. "You have until noon to get these bells from me or you fail. Get it?"

"But...there are only two of them! How can we all pass when there are three of us?" Ino asked.

_Oh, she's bright. _"Very good observation. The truth is..." Kakashi's visible eye curved upwards, "Only two of you can pass. The one that doesn't get a bell gets tossed back to the Academy."

"NANI?-!" Naruto shot up. "You can't do that!"

"Actually, I can. Now, are you going to argue or are you going to get a bell? Time is wasting." Kakashi said as he set a clock down on a nearby stump. He tied the two bells to his waist before pulling out his 'novel' to read. He sighed when both Sasuke and Ino disappeared in a blur. Oddly, Naruto stayed where he was with a smile on his face.

"This is great! Now I don't have to ask you for a private match to beat you, I can just beat you now and pass at the same time." He said as he pulled out a wooden bokuden, his actual blade still in it's sheath at his side. Kakashi sighed as he looked up from his book.

"You can talk all you want, but it's dumb to just charge in when facing a unknown opponent. I would think going through Iruka's class would at least teach you that much. Don't underestimate people you know nothing about."

"Oh, I'm not underestimating you..." Naruto said as he exploded in a burst of speed. Kakashi barley had time to pull out a kunai as he parried a thrust aimed at his arm. _Damn, he's fast. _Dancing around, Kakashi blocked and parried moving all around the training ground. More and more he was led towards the river as if the blonde was heading him there for some reason.

"Whoa...I didn't know Naruto was so good!" Ino said from the safety of the trees on the edge of the clearing. Sasuke and Ino had decided to stay together and look for an opening to attack when Naruto distracted the Jounin by attacking head on. Now they were captivated with the moves of the two combatants. Kakashi wasn't going all out, but he did have to put his book up mid-fight. "Look at the way Naruto's moving, it's like he's flowing around sensei's attacks." Ino whispered to the raven haired boy.

"Hn, it's not all that great." Sasuke said as he watched the two. _Naruto has been this strong the whole time? I don't believe it. _They both winced as Kakashi finally caught on to Naruto's patterns of dodging and landed a solid kick to his midsection sending him flying towards the river.

"Naruto!" Ino yelled involuntarily. However, worry turned into astonishment as Naruto didn't plummet into the water like they thought he would, instead he seemed to catch himself and actually stand on the water.

"So, you can already do water walking? Impressive." Kakashi said. It was actually more than Impressive as even Sasuke didn't have that amount of chakra control yet. Kakashi noted that the boy was still a bit wobbly as he stood there, occasionally sinking a foot into the water only to pull it back out again.

"I can do more than that, Kakashi-sensei!" _Damn! He's a lot faster than I thought and how did he catch onto my dodge patterns so fast?-! I have to end this now. _Kakashi got confused as Naruto put away his bokuden. He was wondering if the boy was giving up before he noticed the hand seals Naruto was doing.

"Oh shi-" Kakashi said as he ripped of his forehead protector and exposing his left eye.

"**_Suiton Daibakufu no Jutsu!"_** Naruto yelled as he completed the hand seals. A moderate-sized blast of water churned out of the river towards the Jounin. Naruto saw his attack was going to miss and quickly decided to made a break for the trees where Ino and Sasuke went while Kakashi was busy dodging the water blast.

_Damn! Used way too much chakra for that one. Water walking and using the Water Explosion? Not a good idea. How the heck did he dodge that though..._ Lucky for Naruto, Kakashi was too stunned to follow Naruto's inhuman speed as he disappeared into the trees.

_Wow, that kid made me use the Sharingan and he's just a Genin! That was a Jounin-level skill too, how the heck did he know it?_ Covering his eye once again, he decided his best course of action was to bide his time so he leaned up against a tree to read his book...and mull over the many questions he had about the blonde haired boy who looked so much like his own sensei...

Ino and Sasuke had been watching this whole exchange with wonder and a hint of jealousy. Ino scanned the opening for Naruto, but couldn't see the other blonde anywhere. Suddenly, Sasuke jumped up from his place crouched behind Ino and drew a kunai. Ino looked up at him then got up herself only to come face-to-face with one very winded samurai.

"Dobe..." Sasuke said as he looked the boy over. Naruto was sprawled out on the grass under the tree his two team members were in. Sasuke looked back at the Jounin before hopping down to crouch beside the other boy. "What was that jutsu you used? Where did you learn it?" Naruto grinned at the other boys blatant jealousy.

"Aww, don't get jealous, Sasuke." Naruto said as he sat up. Sasuke just glared at him so Naruto tried to placate him. "Really, it's not that great a jutsu for you, you are a fire specialist, right?" This seemed to calm him down some and he walked over to prop up against a tree with a 'Humph'. Ino jumped down from the tree after Sasuke and sat opposite of Naruto.

"How the heck are we going to get one of those bells? I mean, sensei is amazing!" She said, exasperated.

"Well, I have an idea...if we all work together and manage to make him choose between death and passing, he can't fail us, right?" This came from Naruto. The other two looked at him with interest and suspicion. "Look, we have to work together if we're going to get even one bell! I have a jutsu that will really help if we all play our parts, you guys wanna try it? We can put that smug bastard in his place!" Ino looked over at Sasuke with questioning eyes. When Sasuke walked over to the two they all huddled up to hear Naruto's plan...

_**Meanwhile, Back With Kakashi...**_

"...just then, Usagi walked in on the priestess just when she was getting into the warm bath. When she didn't ask for her to leave, the blonde girl started to strip, eyeing the young girl eagerly..." Kakashi was thoroughly enjoying reading the newest edition of 'Ichya Ichya Paradise' when a sudden movement caught his attention. He sighed and put his book back into his special 'Ichya Pouch' he had custom made in his Jounin vest. He knew better than to underestimate his charges like he had done with Naruto, it would be a blight on his reputation if something like that happened again. He calmed down when he saw Sasuke step out from the tree line.

"So, it's your turn, eh?" Kakashi said gauging the young Uchiha. Sasuke smirked as he whipped out several kunai and threw them at the elite Jounin. Kakashi moved with inhuman speed as he picked all of them out of the air before they hit. Sasuke didn't wait to see the results of his initial assault, he was already closing the distance between him and Kakashi. The Jounin blocked several punches and caught Sasuke's foot in his hand. The boy smirked and sent a fist sailing at the man's head which was also caught. Now that both of Kakashi's hands were busy, the Uchiha whipped his other fist at the Jounin's midsection.

_Damn it, he's going for the bells!_ Kakashi thought he would get one too until the boys fist flew past the bells and into his stomach. The man grunted at the impact and the raven haired boy broke his limbs free of Kakashi's grasp. Before the Jounin could recover, he had to hastily dodge several shuriken aimed at his legs. They came from Ino as she darted behind Kakashi and aimed a fist at the back of the man's skull. Now he was caught between two opponents and had nothing in sight that he could use a replacement jutsu to switch places with. He was just starting to get the better of his two younger, less experienced opponents until he caught sight of a familiar blonde haired boy doing hand seals. The two Genin's leapt away as the boy finished the many seals and let out a cry. They were in a sequence Kakashi had never seen.

"**_Naibun Ken Kison no Jutsu!" _**The boy exclaimed as the area was soon filled with mist. _Oh, taking away my sight, eh? Not bad, they can work as a team after all. _He was brought out of his musing as caught movement coming at him. He saw a figure appear from the mist in front of him, it was Naruto in a full sword thrust. Kakashi ducked and punched upwards as the boy passed harmlessly over him. The punch sailed upwards, aimed at the blondes stomach and...passed right through him? _What the...A MIST CLONE! _It was too late for Kakashi though, he felt a cold blade pressed up against the back of his neck, a kunai pointed at the front of his throat under his chin, and a third aimed at his 'Ichya Pouch'. As the mist cleared, he saw team seven all present and smiling. Even Sasuke had a confident grin.

"Excellent work you three!" They all whipped their heads around to see a grinning Kakashi sitting on a high branch of a tree a good twenty feet away.

"How..." Sasuke began as the Kakashi they had at their mercy pop out of existence.

"Shadow Clone." Kakashi answered as he hopped down from the tree. The three Genin's were still in shock but the Jounin was all smiles. Well, as much of a smile he could give while his face was covered up. "That was a great tactic you all used, good teamwork." _And I would have been dead if they were really out to kill, I would have had no time to do a replacement jutsu if they weren't just trying to hold me._

"Yeah, but we didn't get a bell." Naruto said as he fell down on the grass panting. "Now we all go back to the Academy."

"I know...hey, wait." Ino looked up from her spot by Naruto. "There was no way to beat you alone, was there? We had to team up..." Kakashi smiled even more as at least one of them figured it out.

"Correct. The whole exercise was about getting the three of you to work as a team, and because of that..." He let it draw out before giving them a 'thumbs up', "...you all pass!" Happy cries echoed throughout the forest. Ino glomped onto Sasuke much to his annoyance and Naruto's anger. Kakashi couldn't help but cringe at how much trouble this was going to cause later on.

"So, Naruto, what was that jutsu you used?" Ino said after Sasuke has pulled out of her iron grip. "I've never heard of a thing like it."

"Heh, I made it myself from. I mixed the **'_Kirigakure no Jutsu' _**and **'_Oboro Bunshin no Jutsu' _**into one set of hand seals. It saves time, but uses twice as much chakra. I thought it up after Gramps made me think of a quick kill skill. He said it's what my style was about, to get the enemy into a favorable position so I can deal with them easier." Naruto explained.

"So...you make mist and a mist clone, then have the clone charge at the target to distract them while you sneak up behind them in the mist to kill them? Pretty good, Naruto." Ino said, very impressed. Naruto blushed a bit before Kakashi cut in.

"Well, I'll expect this level of competence in the future when we go on our fist mission tomorrow, go get some sleep tonight..." Before he could say anymore, Naruto shot up to his feet.

"Hey! It's still before noon now, can't we have our fist mission today?" Naruto said. Sasuke looked over at Kakashi and Ino shrugged. It was well before noon, the whole test had only taken two hours. Kakashi thought for a moment before slumping his shoulders.

"Ok, since you are all so eager, meet me at the Hokage tower in an hour. I'll go on ahead to see what I can get us." With one last comment about kids being the death of him, Kakashi disappeared in a plume of smoke.

_**At the Hokage Tower...**_

"And that's what happened, Hokage-sama." Kakashi had just finished up his report of the training session. The Hokage was a bit mithed that Naruto had tried to take on his best Jounin one-on-one, but was happy with the end result. "If they were out to kill, I wouldn't be standing here. Of course, I only used my Sharingan once and stuck to Taijutsu, but it was still quite a feat."

"Ah, and so you want a mission for them?" When Kakashi nodded, Sarutobi let out a sigh. "I have a mission that I need to be done quickly, I didn't want to expose them to such violence so early in their lives, but I can think of no one better for the job..." Kakashi started to get worried.

"Hokage-sama?" He started. The Third tossed him a file. Leafing through it, Kakashi's eye widened. "This is..."

"Yes, the scroll containing all the forbidden jutsu's of Konoha has been stolen. It seems Mizuki, the Academy teacher, was waiting for a chance to steal it and did so while most were busy at the graduation. The ANBU tracked him as fall as our boarder with Hidden Sand, but I called them off so I could send a proper team. I have a cover mission for you that should get you into the village without problem. We don't know if he wants the scroll for himself, or if he's trying to sell it to Hidden Sand. I don't think I need to tell you what it would mean if someone other than Konoha got the secrets in there, do I?" Kakashi shook his head. He know all manner of sealing jutsu's were in that scroll and what it could possibly do.

"I have faith in my teams abilities, but I think this might be too much for them..." Kakashi began, only to be cut off by the Third once again.

"All the other talented teams are out on assignments right now, we have to get that scroll back. It's an A-Class mission so you have the right to refuse, I just don't have anyone else to turn to..." Kakashi sighed once again. He got the feeling the Hokage was exaggerating things, but he couldn't argue.

"Of course, Hokage-sama. We will leave immediately." With a quick bow, Kakashi -poof'd- out of the Hokage's office, leaving a rather pleased man sitting at the large desk.

"Well, now lets see if I'm right about those three. Yondaime, I hope your son is as talented as you were because I've given him a test on not only his physical strength, but also his character as a person..." Sarutobi said, staring at a picture of a young blonde man with piercing blue eyes...

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Sorry about the short chapter! So, Naruto and gang head out to Hidden Sand to chase after the forbidden scroll, nothing bad could happen, right? Ha! Next time on Bushido no Jutsu: "Sand and Fire: The Gathering" 


	8. Fire and Sand: The Gathering

Don't hurt me! I finally got the new chapter out so enjoy it! Sorry that it's taken so long, I kinda hit a writers block. I was thinking about the pairings for this...might be adding a third wheel to the NarutoxIno angle...dunno yet. Anyway, read and review! I promise the next chapter won't take as long to get out as this one.

Disclaimer no Jutsu: I don't own Naruto, but I do own the plot! Don't use my Narutoverse without my permission, please?

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**Chapter: Fire and Sand, The Gathering**

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"So Kakashi-sensei...why are we going to Hidden Sand again?" the blonde asked.

"Like I told you at the Hokage Tower, to chase down Mizuki." the Jounin replied.

"I still can't believe he took off like that, didn't he know ANBU would be after him?" the blonde konoichi asked. The trio had left Konoha as soon as Kakashi's meeting with the Hokage was over. It shocked them all that their first mission would be A-Class, but the Jounin was sure something was going on that he wasn't aware of; especially since the Hokage had paid for the mission out of his own funds.

"I knew there was something off about that guy ever since he was the teacher of my class at the Academy." Sasuke muttered mid-leap. Naruto leapt up beside him, his figure a blur. They had been traveling non-stop since they were out of the village and they were all badly winded, but Naruto still managed to keep the atmosphere light.

"Wow, if a head case like you says there's something wrong with the guy then we'd all better watch out." he snickered. Sasuke just glared and grunted.

"Hey, Naruto. You have to be nice to Sasuke-kun now, remember? You totally lost that bet!" Ino declared as she caught up with the rest of them. "Did you know that, Sasuke-kun? He has to call you 'Sasuke-domo' now!" the girl declared with hearts in her eyes. The other blonde almost fell out of a tree in shock.

"Actually, Naruto did win." the Jounin said casually, saving the blonde samurai. Seeing both blonde's confused expressions, he elaborated. "Naruto was the first one to catch me off-guard and like you three said, it was his plan. If he really wanted to kill me, I wouldn't be here. So, he won...technically." Naruto could barely contain his excitement.

"Hell yeah! You owe me dinner Ino." Naruto said with a foxy grin. Sasuke rolled his eyes and picked up the pace, pulling away from the group.

"Sasuke-kun, wait up! See what you did, Naruto? You made him mad for some reason!" she accused before leaping off, trying to catch up with the Uchiha. Naruto gritted his teeth but didn't try to follow. Kakashi frowned when he saw the boy's expression.

"You know, sometimes a girl doesn't see..." Kakashi started. Naruto chuckled bitterly.

"Save it, someone already gave me the 'happiness is usually right under someone's nose but they don't see it' speech. I'm really starting to wonder if she's worth it..." he thought for a moment before sighing. "I wouldn't care so much if the bastard actually cared about her, but he doesn't. She's just going to end up getting hurt and I can't do anything about it." he said as he looked ahead at the pair ahead of him. Kakashi absorbed this and his eye noticeably sagged.

"I guess. There is a way you can get her attention, make her see you in another light. You do have a 'date' with her, right? I'll give you two some time off once we get to Hidden Sand so you can have a good time." the Jounin said with his usual lazy/happy tone.

"…thanks Kakashi-sensei." the boy said to the Jounin. The older man smiled at the thanks. "Who would have thought a pervert like you could give sound love advice? Will wonders never cease!" the boy exclaimed as he caught up with his teammates. Kakashi grimaced and glanced down at his 'reading material'.

"What does he know…now, back to my Icha Icha! 'The blue-haired girl walked up to the tall woman, blushing as she ran her gaze over her toned body…'" Kakashi giggled like a school girl as the odd collection of ninja quickly made their way to the lands of the sand…

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"…that is my final offer."

"No way...15000...no less...

"….half of that….have we...deal?"

"What the heck are those two talking about?" asked a blonde-haired girl. Her and a young boy were standing outside of the Kazekages' door trying to eavesdrop on the muffled conversation.

"How am I supposed to know? If we get caught we're going to be in trouble, Temari!" the boy whispered. He had a wrapped object strapped to his back and was wearing face paint. They both put their heads to the door and continued to listen.

"….yes, we have a deal. Have fun with your scroll, Kazekage-sama." came the voice from inside the office. The pair of sand-nins heard footsteps and hurriedly scurried from the door; they stood sagely to the side of the room trying to look like innocent twelve-year-olds. The silver-haired man that came through the door looked at the two in passing as he walked off. The pair let out twin breaths of relief.

"Ha, thought we were caught..." the boy said. The girls ego swelled for a moment as she struck a pose.

"Like that could happen! We are the number one Genin's in Hidden Sand, no way anyone could catch us spying." she exclaimed. They both were startled by the stray waves of sand that whipped up near them. The familiar feeling of dread welled up from there very souls as they watched the sand increase into a small sandstorm in the corner of the waiting room. They both shook involuntarily at the new visitor. A young redheaded boy stood where there was once a small whirlwind of sand; his cold eyes shifted to the other two ninja. Dark ringed eyes meet the two sand nins. He blinked then walked over to the door of the Kazekages' office with his arms crossed. Temari almost broke out into a sweat as she eyed the large gourd on the boys back.

"...we have an appointment, come." the boy commanded before disappearing into the Kazekages' office. The other two ninja let out the collective breath they were holding and followed him in. The Kazekage was sitting behind his desk looking over a very large scroll, grinning like an idiot. He was completely unaware of three ninja now standing inside of his office.

"...so, that's why he's unbalanced..." At a cough from in front of his desk, the Kazekage looked up from the scroll. His children were standing there, two of them frightened and one of them staring at him with blank eyes. _Not for much longer..._

"Ah, you all have arrived right on time, excellent. How are you all doing?" he asked. Two of the siblings blinked and looked over at the young redhead. His face was unreadable.

"Um...we're good, dad. You said you had a mission for us? " Temari asked. Kankuro was looking very confused at his point. Gaara sill just stood there with his vacant stare. Even the Kazekage shifted uneasily in his chair. A Kage-level ninja does not let anyone know he has fears...even if one of them is the human container for the One-tailed Raccoon.

"Ah, yes. I did have a mission for you, but I'm canceling it as of now. Your new mission is only for one of you." he turned to Gaara. "Gaara...I have something I need you to do and it's very important to the survival of Hidden Sand." the seriousness in the Kazekage's voice made Temari and Kankuro straighten up, even Gaara raised an eyebrow.

"...and that would be?" Gaara asked with no emotion. The Kazekage quietly fumed. _That brat! How dare he be so rude to me! Calm down...he won't be so smug for too much longer, oh no. _

"A way to...increase your power. I have recently procured a scroll that will allow me to let you draw more of Shukaku's power. We can begin in a few hours." the Kazekage said. Temari and Kankuro were about to jump out of their skin. Gaara with even more power? That's not something that they wanted to ever see. The demon vessel in question silently pondered this opportunity. It could allow him to get more control over the crazed Tanuki, maybe even let him get some sleep. He slowly nodded much to the delight of the Kazekage and the terror of his siblings...

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It was dark, the boy could tell that it wasn't his eyes failing. The only light came from several candles around the area, flickering in the darkness. He tried to sit up, to do something, but found some unknown source was holding him down. Now, he was never one to panic but even this boy was starting to get worried. He tried to tense his muscles, his hand, his leg, anything but it was as if his body was no longer his own.

"Calm down, it's just a jutsu that will restrain you in case something goes wrong." a voice said. The boy darted his eyes around, trying to see the person that was talking even though he knew who it was. He tried to say something in protest to the treatment but like the rest of his body he couldn't get his vocal cords to work. Sounds came to his ears, a low humming. His senses were still his own and he reached out with them, years of training and instinct coming into play. He could feel the massive about of Chakra being gathered, for what the boy didn't know. Slowly a figure made it's way over to him. The boy knew the person standing over him.

"My defenses won't allow you to kill me. Even if I was foolish enough to allow you to suppress my chakra, the sand will not allow you harm me. Already I can feel some control returning." the boy said in monotone. The man hovering above him smirked as he started gathering more chakra into his hands. As he did, the boy noticed hundreds of seals run in lines all over the room. Thousands of them all running into a single point: his stomach.

"Well then, I guess I'll have to do this quickly, right Gaara?" the Kazekage said as he rammed his glowing hand into the boys stomach; his bitter resolve to stay conscious only adding to the pain...

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"And what is your business in Suna?" a gruff guard asked Team 7. They had just arrived in Hidden Sand when the sun started to wane in the sky. Kakashi had suggested they all get a room tonight and start the search in the morning. They were currently at the gates of the sandy city being confronted by a very gruff gate guard.

"We are on a diplomatic mission for the Hokage of Hidden Leaf. I have the official documents on me, want to see them?" Kakashi asked in his usual 'I-don't-give-a-crap' voice while reading his precious book. Luckily they had received an actual diplomatic mission to use as a cover to get into Hidden Sand. The guard looked over the paperwork and grudgingly approved. While Kakashi was getting directions to a good hotel, Naruto was taking the time to look around at the construction of the buildings.

"Wow, the buildings here are all the same color, it could fry your brain after awhile." the samurai said as he looked over at a multi-story complex. Sasuke was off to the side with Ino carrying on a one-sided conversation. Naruto gritted his teeth but before he could say anything Kakashi shuffled back over to them.

"Well, there's a place we can stay at the end of this street so we'll be there. Our...'diplomatic' mission will start tomorrow so I suggest you guys don't stay out too late." the Jounin said as he started reading again.

"That sounds good, Kakashi-sensei." Ino chirped happily from her place beside Sasuke. "Eh, I'm hungry though, lets get dinner!" she suggested as she smirked at the Uchiha; Sasuke just grunted. Naruto wasn't too happy with the prospect of spending more time watching Ino throw herself at Sasuke until Kakashi spoke up.

"Well, me and Sasuke can go get take-out or something; Ino, don't you owe Naruto a dinner?" the copy-nin said in a suprisingingly non-lazy tone. The blonde boy gave him a very thankful smile. Ino looked between Naruto and Sasuke and finally let out a sigh.

"Right, right. Come on, Naruto! Ramen I guess, right?" she asked. Naruto looked happy at the prospect but took a minute to think. _Wait, wait, wait! Kakashi-sensei said to let her see me in a 'new light'. If we just go for Ramen she'll just see the usual me stuffing my face with Ramen so I've got to pick a regular restaurant...but that means giving up Ramen and that's never a good thing...but if I don't I might not ever get another chance with Ino-chan! _

"Um, I was thinking of a more traditional dinner. Maybe a place in an actual building and not a open-air cart?" The rest of the group stared at the boy as if he had grown a second head. Shockingly, Sasuke was the first to speak up.

"Dobe...did you just turn down RAMEN?" the Uchiha said with more emotion than one would think he had in his entire body. Naruto was beginning to get uncomfortable being the center of attention, Kakashi even let his beloved 'Icha Icha Paradise' book slip from his grip and fall to the dusty street.

"It's not that big of a deal! Come on Ino-chan, let's go before these guys have a stroke or something." the boy said in a rush before grabbing the other blondes hand and running down the street; Ino was still too shocked to offer any protest. Kakashi and Sasuke watched the pair run down the street obviously having no idea on where to go to.

"So...I'm off. What are your plans, Sasuke?" the Jounin asked his student. Sasuke just grunted and walked off. "Well, at least I don't have to baby-sit anyone." Kakashi mumbled before heading off to the nearest bookstore to get word on the newest edition of Icha Icha Paradise.

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"Unnnn..." Gaara's eyes blinked open. He was vertical and his wrists were sore. He took a quick glance around and found he was in a small room shackled to the wall. _What the hell did father do to me? Last thing I remember was some sort of seal...then pain...wait, did I black out? How did they survive Shukaku! The demon takes complete control when I'm unconscious. _He stopped his inner monolog for a moment and noticed something even more confusing than him being unconscious; for the first time since he was small, there was no psychotic voice in the back of his mind. _I...can hear myself think. Father must have done something drastic to get Shukaku to shut up. _Snapping him out of his trance, the door swung open and the small room flooded with light. Gaara narrowed his eyes at the sudden brightness and could only make out a shady figure standing in the door. As his vision got used to the light, he made out the trademark images of his siblings; Temari and Kankuro. Another figure pushed past them, it was their Jounin sensei, Baki.

"So, you're awake. Good, it makes this easier." Gaara noticed that his two siblings flinched but didn't say anything. They seemed to be looking anywhere but at Gaara. "Sabaku no Gaara, you are hereby condemned to death by the Kazekage for your crimes against the populous of Hidden Sand." Gaara didn't show any visible emotion but his mind was buzzing. "You will die tomorrow morning at first light. I'm sorry it's come to this, Gaara. The Kazekage is doing this for the good of the village, you know." Baki was trying to sound upset but anyone with half a brain could tell he was holding back his smugness.

"Really?" Gaara asked as he raised an eyebrow. "How many times in the past has the Kazekage tired to kill me?" the shackled redhead asked. His siblings seemed to be a bit shocked that their brother could say a full sentence but they were still somber and quiet.

"Oh, I don't think we'll have a problem with you now, not thanks to our recent...acquisition of a certain scroll. I'm sure you already notice the effects: your demon wasn't let out when you were unconscious should be the most glaring result. Thought you were smarter than that, Gaara?" Baki said with a smirk. Gaara had had enough of this cocky idiot. He willed his sand to simply crush the man and break his restraints...only nothing happened. He tried again to will his sand to go forth but again, nothing happened. Gaara's eyes went wide and he turned to the man who was now laughing. For the first time since he was a child, he felt fear.

"What did you do!" the boy yelled. Temari and Kankuro took a step back once they saw their brothers rage. They knew all too well what Gaara was capable of when he really looses it but Baki only laughed harder.

"I didn't do anything. The Kazekage mearly increased the points on your seal. Before, you only had a partial seal, that's why you were so...insane, that's the word. Anyway, now that you have a full 8-point seal on that demon of yours, you can't do anything with your sand in the way of defense since the demon no longer has any control over anything that you do, including your sentient sand. To sum up: you can now be killed." Baki said triumphantly. Temari and Kankuro grew wide-eyed and looked at their brother. They were waiting for their sensei to get crushed to death.

"So, that's what the scroll was in fathers' office?" the blonde girl asked. She seemed a bit worried still but was no longer radiating fear. Baki nodded to the pair.

"Yes. That scroll has all the secrets of Hidden Leaf including advanced sealing methods. Luckily we didn't have to do any sacrifices to kill this lunatic because the original seal was already anchored to him. All Kazekage-sama had to do is increase the amount of points on the seal and he's rendered helpless." Baki explained. The man seemed to get an idea and stuck his head out of the door to look for people nearby. After making sure no one was around, he turned back to the pair of sand nins. "You know, you've guys have had to deal with him for years, if you'd like I'll let you work him over for a bit before he's killed tomorrow." Gaara looked at his siblings. He expected them to beat him to within and inch of his life and mearly hung his head.

"...no, I don't think we will." Gaara lifted his head to look at his sister. She was fidgeting, but still had a resolute look in her eyes. "No matter what has happened...he's still our brother. He's going to die anyway, no need to make him go through this as well." Baki frowned but let it go. He turned to Gaara and smirked as he walked out the door.

"Fine, let's get going then. We do have a mission to do in the morning so I'm going to turn in. Crowd control for something as flashy as a public execution is going to be a pain. Maybe you two should go out to eat or something to celebrate?" he said as he was walking out the door. Kankuro looked back and Gaara before following him at a slow pace. Temari was about to head out as well, but Gaara spoke up.

"...thank you, Temari." the boy said as she passed through the door. She stiffened a bit but continued to walk, leaving the demon vessel to ponder his fate...

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"Darn it, Naruto! How could you get us lost?" Ino huffed. The object of her ire had led them off down some nameless street in search of a meal. The blonde girl really didn't know why the boy was putting so much effort into this, it's not like he's never had anything to eat before! "Seriously, do you even have any idea where we're going?"

"Umm...nope!" he replied with a grin. Ino couldn't help but chuckle. _That's just like him; rushing into a situation without any idea what he's getting into. _She smiled mentally. The street they were walking on led to the massive Kazekage tower in the middle of the village. Once the team was inside of the village, Kakashi had ordered them all to take off their hitai-ate's to avoid any unnecessary complications; sand nins were known for their completeness with other villages. To the casual observer the pair would look normal even with the two swords that were tied around Naruto's waist. The pair had been wandering around for a good thirty minutes chatting as they went. The blonde boy was so wrapped up his conversation that he did not even see the other boy who he was about to run into until it was too late. Knocked off-balance, Naruto managed to keep upright but the other boy wasn't so lucky; he fell flat on his back.

"Hey! Watch were you're going!" the boy said as he picked himself up. Naruto studied his face for a moment. He had kabuki pain on that made him look like he was wearing a mask. He also had something wrapped up on his back. He was helped up by a girl, Naruto couldn't help but notice how pretty she was. She was a few years older than he was, maybe 14. Her hair was done up in a quad ponytail, something he had never seen before. She was wearing a light blue dress that was form-fitting, it was also trimmed in fishnet and a giant weapon strapped to her back seemed to frame her appearance. Ino looked over at her companion's glazed-over expression and frowned. _I don't believe this, he's practically drooling over her! Jerk, he's out with me and he's doing something like that...wait, did I just say he was out with me? Hell no, this is just a bet thing! _Mentally confirming this to herself, Ino nodded her head. _Still, even if it's just a bet he shouldn't be undressing her with his eyes..._

"Whoa, sorry about that." Naruto said once he tore his gaze away from the girl. He scratched the back of his head and hoped the twilight would cover up his faint blush. _Wow! She's something else...wonder if this guy is her boyfriend? No! I'm out with Ino-chan, I can't be thinking about other girls! Bad Naruto! _"Guess I should watch out for where I'm going, huh?" he asked with a grin. The other boy dusted himself off but didn't look too mad.

"Yeah, me too. Sorry about that." he said. The pair didn't seem too upset over the run-in, but they didn't seem very happy either. Naruto couldn't help but frown at the girls' sullen look.

"Um...you guys ok? You look really down." he asked. The fan-wielding blonde met the boy's gaze but clenched her eyes shut.

"We've...just had a bad day. Actually, we should get going, we're off to dinner. See you guys around." she said as she walked away from the group. The guy with face paint sighed and followed, but Naruto ran to catch up with them.

"You know, we were just going to get dinner ourselves, can we join you? We really don't know the place all that well, you know? It'll be my treat!" he asked. The sandy blonde looked at him with a confused face then looked to the other boy as if she was asking for his opinion. When he shrugged, she nodded her head and gave him a little smile.

"Yeah, we could use the company." she said. Naruto flashed a foxy smile before following the sandy blonde off, leaving a grateful face painted boy and quietly fuming Ino to follow.

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You know, I like this chapter! It may not be that long, but it is one of the more important ones for the story. I really like a TemarixInoxNaruto love triangle! I think I've found the rhythm for this story, so expect more updates. Next time on 'Bushido no Jutsu', Temari and Kankuro sit in for dinner, I'm sure Ino will like that; there will also be another surprise, but I'll keep that a secret. See you next time! 


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